IN the 1950s, a military surgeon by the name of Ambroise Paré recorded the phenomenon of ‘phantom pains’ for the first time. It was an unfortunate fact that many soldiers often lost limbs during their period of service, especially in times of war. Although the limbs were fully gone from the person’s body, they continued to report feeling sensations in the missing limb. More specifically, they reported pain that was, in some cases, excruciating. Naturally, this problem was baffling for many doctors and surgeons, including Ambroise Paré. After all, how could a doctor cure pain coming from a part of one’s body that no longer existed? The phenomenon of phantom pain is very real and is still studied today. People continue to report pain in limbs that no longer exist. In some cases, they even report pain from internal organs that have already been surgically removed. Unfortunately, we do not know the exact cause of the issue, nor do we have a perfect solution. Phantom pains remain a modern mystery.

Nestled deep within this strange and unfortunate phenomenon is a simple metaphor that can bring some of our own troubles into an interesting perspective. Phantom pains can be so severe that they can drive a person to a state of hopelessness and depression. Even if the pain itself were manageable, the fact that it might never be cured or taken seriously as a medical condition could drive a person to the edge of their limits. In simpler terms, a whole human being could be broken into pieces not by pain, but by the mere ghost of it. Though they survive losing an entire part of their body, they become trapped by its phantom.

An important part of growing up is facing obstacles in a healthy way. Of course, obstacles tend to occur in every aspect of our lives. They also have the ability to fall within a continuum that determines the exact extent to which they will affect us. It is crucial for us to learn to respond to obstacles in a way that correlates with their nature and seriousness. More importantly, it is vital for us to understand when to stop thinking about an obstacle. Every struggle we encounter during the course of our lives is an opportunity for growth. However, if we refuse to move on from our struggles even after they have ended, then there is no way for us to grow or learn. We become trapped by the phantom of an obstacle that has already been removed from our lives. This is how factors such as stress and anxiety begin to infiltrate the lives of many young people.

We are no strangers to the old adage, “Don’t cry over spilt milk”. These words remind us that even when we experience negative situations in our lives, we must not linger on the things we have lost or on the things we have failed to gain. Instead, we must focus on what happens next and how we can heal and move on from the past. This is the only way to ensure that we are not captured by our own form of “phantom pain”.

Human beings are complex and wonderful creatures. We have the ability to map out stars and build cities with nothing more than the sheer strength of our collective minds. Our dreams have the power to shape reality. Our thoughts have the power to shape our identities. With all this in mind, it is no wonder that when we choose to feed the powerful engine of our minds with negative thoughts, we begin to feel quite awful. If we constantly think about the difficult situations and losses of the past, we will eventually convince ourselves that we are still living through them.

Youth is a powerful and inspiring phase. It is bursting with opportunities for growth and new beginnings. Even the most desolate memories can dissolve when we consider what we are capable of achieving tomorrow. Let us choose to face the golden future that awaits us rather than waste our precious energy recounting the past that has already left us.