Trauma to Transformation: Living with Chronic Pain as an Artist

Prolific collage artist Madcollage is our guest in today’s episode. Madcollage grew up in Madrid and has a lot of wonderful memories of the city, especially warm memories with her father. However, there were also times she remembers that were not idyllic, as there was quite a bit of conflict within the family.

From a young age, she didn’t feel like she fit in. She acknowledged early on she had a different way of expressing how she feels. She was always a maker, creating and dismantling whatever she could to find out how and why things worked. It’s perfectly fitting that she turned to create collages as a creative outlet.

Often, we don’t recognize our defining moments until they have passed. These memories that stick with you can end up being defining moments. Madcollage believes we can have many of these moments, but the one she has chosen to share today is a hopeful moment. Despite the pain, fear, and difficulty she faced daily, she decided to launch Madcollage as a business endeavor.

From this point on, it became something more than what existed for her own benefit. She took all her trauma and transformed it into something that could have a positive impact on others. Our brains have a negative bias, which gets activated when we are stressed. Madcollage actively and intentionally runs away from this negativity and focuses on her art.

The harder the chronic pain in her body resisted creating this business, the harder she fought against it. This resistance wasn’t—and isn’t—stronger than her love for art. It can be tough to see what’s right in front of you if you're dealing with pain. Accessing a creative outlet can help you see what’s beyond your chronic pain.