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When you’ve been living with Chronic Pain for an extended period of time, you know that you’re going to have good days and bad days. What do you do when you start worrying about the bad days – when they’re going to hit, how long they’re going to last and how can you manage to get through them?
I think one of the most important things you can do with Chronic Pain is to acknowledge it. Just because you live with it every day doesn’t mean you’ve come to peace about it. You may try to ignore it, hoping it will go away or you may confront it head-on. It’s important to recognize it for what it is though…pain that disrupts your life and causes your world to spin on a wobbly axis.
Chronic Pain is a force to be reckoned with. You may live most of your time with your pain at a manageable level, but inevitably, there comes a time when a flare-up happens and you find yourself struggling to manage. There are tips and tricks for flare-ups that might help and I’d like to suggest the following:
Relax
Easier said than done, but when your body has launched into “fight or flight” mode, you need to find a way to slow that adreneline down to where you are back in control. This is a good time to try some deep breathing techniques such as the 7-4-7 approach.
Breath in for a count of 7, hold for a count of 4 and breath out for a count of 7. Do this several times until you are able to feel your body starting to relax a bit. By focusing on the breathing, you trick the body into believing the danger is over, so your heart rate returns to normal. You will likely still feel pain, but it should be more manageable.
Heat and/or Cold
Heat and cold are both equally good for dealing with pain. I personally prefer heat as it helps to relax my tense muscles. Cold is better for acute injuries or when inflammation is a problem. Using a heating pad like this one can offer the benefits of a steady source of heat without injuring the skin:
Cold Pack
Essential Oils
Many people find that Essential Oils offer them benefits to help relieve their Chronic Pain. Certain blends of Essentials can help to control pain, relax you and ease your state of mind. There are many sources of Essential Oils – I like these ones on Amazon.com:
Healing Solutions Blends
Knowledge
Knowing more about Chronic Pain can help you deal with it better. There are numerous books out there that serve as excellent resources for knowledge. I personally have read these two and found them extremely useful:
Managing Chronic Pain
You Are Not Your Pain
Yoga
Therapeutic Yoga has many benefits, including enhanced sleep and general well-being. This book provides you with the basics of a beginning yoga practice to help you manage your pain.
Yoga For Pain Relief
Support Groups
Support Groups, either in person or online can be so valuable when it comes to dealing with Chronic Pain. Just knowing that others are going through the same thing as you can be empowering. To find a support group in your local area, trying Googling “Pain Support” and your city’s name.
Online, I suggest finding a good Facebook group. There’s one for almost every Invisible Illness (and Visible Illnesses as well) and can be easily found by searching by name in Facebook. One that I recommend is here:
Medical Musings With Friends
Based in Australia, they have members from around the world, but predominantly Australia, the USA and Canada. I am a member here and the group is extremely outgoing, friendly and they “get it”. Everyone lives with their own medical challenges, so they understand what you’re going through and are super supportive.
For Fibromyalgia, you can check out Fibro Connect, for EDS and POTs, try The Zebra Pit and for all Spoonies, you can visit Connected Spoonies. I belong to all of these groups and find them all wonderful and helpful.
Remember,
There Is Always Hope
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