I had severe asthma as a child , so bad my lips would turn blue and you could see my heart beating through my purple unicorn shirt from across the room. Sometimes I’d have to go to the hospital and be hooked up to an oxygen tank.

The asthma found it’s way into my body through series of traumas: a 3rd degree burn across my back, my parents divorce, other stuff I’ll leave up to your imagination.

Around the same time, I also developed an imaginary friend, an alligator named Wheezer, who lived under my bed and would protect me.

I named my imaginary friend after the same thing my body was doing in the during my asthma attacks: wheezing.

As children, we’re vulnerable, we can’t protect ourselves. Especially during an asthma attack, when you’re too weak to even lift a glass of water. My imagination created Wheezer to protect me, until I became big enough to protect myself.

One of the many pleasures of being an adult is that we can develop the skills to help our psyche and our body work as a team. We can transform our pain into power through the force of our intention.

Where do you hurt most?

How can you turn your pain monster into your ally?

How can your imagination help you?