Facial Pain

It comes like lightning. A sharp, cutting pain that shoots through your face — so intense you hold your breath. For some it lasts seconds. For some, minutes. For some it comes in waves, again and again, all day long. Chewing, speaking, a cold gust of wind, a touch of the skin — anything can trigger the next attack. The trigeminal nerve, one of the most sensitive nerves in your body, fires signals as though your face were on fire.

Medically, trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most painful conditions known. Those affected describe the pain as an electric shock, a glowing knife, something that breaks every pain scale. Psychosomatically, a question arises that goes beyond nerve irritation: Why does the pain explode in your face — the place where you show yourself? The place where expression happens, where you meet the world, where who you are becomes visible?