Today we are pondering chronic pain, and helpful tips for managing it. 🙂 Dizzy knows that everyone’s chronic pain is different, but she has come up with lots of different Do’s and Don’t, which she hopes may be able to help make the day with chronic pain just a little easier. 🙂 xx
Do Practice Deep Breathing and Meditation
Deep breathing and meditation might seem tricky at first, but it can be really helpful for relaxing both the body and mind. 🙂 Deep breathing is effective when used in many ways, but one we love, is in the form of the 7/11 breathing technique. In this technique you breathe in for 7 seconds, and then breathe out for 11 seconds. Really deep, slow breathing like this can help reduce stress and potentially reduce pain.
Don’t Let Stress Get The Better of You
Stress can be difficult to deal with, but the more we have it, the more susceptible we are to pain and other chronic illness symptoms. Finding ways to cope with stress can make a huge difference. Our favourites include: taking a nap, watching a film, taking a nap, doing a puzzle and taking a nap. 🙂
Do Try To Stay Active
The endorphins that we produce when we exercise can be great for reducing pain and making us feel happier. Remember just to do what you can. 🙂 Whether it’s a few simple stretches or a gentle walk, every little helps. Having smaller sessions throughout the day is always a good idea, especially if longer sessions are a little too much (like they are for Dizzy and me).
Don’t Partake In Unhealthy Habits
It can be tempting to try bad habits to help, such as eating ginger nut biscuits all day! But, these unhealthy habits can make pain worse. Instead try to find healthy habit. 🙂 Browse a place like Headshop, find a new hobby or find little relaxing tasks to do throughout the day. 🙂
Do Keep A Journal
When you keep a journal, you can make a note of any little triggers that you notice, as well as the times you notice more pain. This can help you to be more mindful of your chronic pain and can help you to come up with ways of minimizing it. These can also be great for showing to your health care professionals, so they can understand what is going on with your condition. 🙂
Don’t Forget To Do Things That You Enjoy
Finding good distractions, especially when they are ones that you enjoy, can be great for helping to take your mind of your pain. Studies have shown that this one works for lots of people. 🙂 And Dizzy has been using these times to practice making ginger nut biscuits appear. Unfortunately she has been unsuccessful so far, but I am sure it will only be a matter of time. 🙂
Do Create A Strong Support Network
A strong support network can really help you when you need advice, or just need to have a moan. Your friends, family, and a group of trusted professionals can make up an amazing team!
We hope that you have found these tips helpful! Have you got any others? We would love to hear about them, so we can add them onto our little list. 🙂 xxx
I get the feeling you like naps, Dizzy! Some great suggestions here for managing our pain a little better. Not forgetting the things we enjoy is also really important, especially if depression is an issue, which is is for many with chronic illness and/or pain. ‘Don’t let stress get the better of you’ is something I’ve not been able to achieve yet, not by far, but it’s something I need to work on. Maybe more naps & more biscuits would help, with some 7/11 breathing in between bites 😉 xx
It’s really hard! I still struggle with anxiety, but a nap does always help. If we don’t like something, we nap. 🙂 x Hope you’re doing ok this week Caz. xx
These are great suggestions Heather and Dizzy. Life is stressful enough these days worrying about COVID, without dealing with chronic pain as well. In reading that you like doing puzzles makes me think of my late mom who loved to do puzzles. She had chronic pain for years as a result of being hit by a car at age 11, spending the next 4 years in the hospital and having 42 operations in her lifetime, 41 orthopedic … the remaining operation was little ol’ me. 🙂 Mom said reading was a good way to take her mind off her pain, but doing jigsaw puzzles and immersing herself in finding those missing pieces really worked for her.
Dizzy and I love to do the donkey jigsaw puzzles. I think we own them all! 🙂 xxx
That is good – you are lucky to find so many of them. I am looking forward to doing some of my mom’s puzzles when I retire. Heather – try this link and see if it works for online jigsaw puzzles of donkeys:
https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=search&q=donkey
Awww, thank you Linda. Lots of donkeysssss! 🙂 xxx
I just ended up doing about six of the smaller ones after sending you the link to donkey puzzles. I love to play Solitaire and going to do the puzzles more too but anything over 12 are kind of small and no picture to follow makes it difficult.
Hehe, me and Dizzy managed a very little one. The 90 piece one, with the little donkey looking up, looks super cute, But looks very tricky to do! xxx
You’re doing better than me Heather as I think 24 pieces may be the biggest puzzle I’ve tried. Then the pieces are way to small. It is fun to do. I love playing Solitaire online … in fact, I love it so much that I gave it up for Lent so that is a big sacrifice!