What is suffering really?

Suffering is such an intense word. I remember the first time I read the 4 Noble Truths I thought, “damn this stuff is a little harsh”. Life is always about suffering, do we ever get a break? There was a song I loved when I was growing up that had lyrics that said “life is pain” I sorta enjoyed that motto. However the word suffering just seemed even harsher. I already had experienced pain, death, sickness, abuse, and trauma. Do I really have to now deal with suffering? I took a step back and through study started to see the differences between pain and suffering. Pain is something I cannot avoid, suffering is something I have a choice in. Pain is losing a soccer game, suffering is punching the wall because I lost the soccer game. You starting to get my drift? I always had pain, however I created so much “extra” by the actions I took because of that pain.