How do I use this suffering?

Today is one of those days of extreme pain where I truly feel like I was beaten with a bat from head to toe. Sometimes I'll even look in the mirror at my skin expecting to see bruising as the agony is so bad. I'll take a hot bath, pop some muscle relaxers, do some yoga, and get it to a manageable level to where I can function. But it's never gone. To live in continual pain changes you as you live in fear that one day it's going to be so bad you won't survive it. 

Thich Nhat Hanh says, "The art of happiness is also the art of knowing how to suffer well. If we know how to use our suffering, we can transform it and suffer much less."

How do I use this suffering? I'd like to believe in sharing my experience I educate and bring understanding about what it's like to live with a chronic pain condition. I hope I show that it's OK to be resilient while still giving space to say I really hate how this feels and what it does to my life. Though I feel the deeper question is how do I use this suffering for my own transformation.

I vacillate between considering this only a physical condition I must manage and exploring if this is a manifestation of trauma. I feel it's both. 

On a random Facebook meme I saw this "Maybe you're not healing because you're trying to be who you were before the trauma, that person doesn't exist anymore, cause there's a new you trying to be born. Breathe life into that person." This resonates deeply. Speaking to a friend this morning we both spoke about who we once were, and though we can talk about those people (ourselves), they no longer exist. 

I do actively work at becoming someone new daily. I suppose the pain keeps me focused and aware as to stop trying would only make the anguish greater. My suffering gives me a level of understanding when I see another in pain that goes beyond empathy and compassion. 

Perhaps healing doesn't mean no longer hurting but instead accepting it and still being happy.