Have A Fulfilling Life With Chronic Pain

Living with chronic pain can be emotionally and physically overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to define you. Here are some actions you can take to have a fulfilling life while dealing with the pain.

Manage Your Stress

According to Everyday Health, “stress and pain are often closely linked.” Stress can have a harmful impact on your body and possibly lead to more discomfort. Studies show that stress, as well as depression and anxiety, can increase pain. Finding outlets for stress management will improve your mental health.

One technique that seems to show promise for those who have chronic pain is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This approach combines yoga and meditation and can also help you manage stress and sleep better.

Steps You Can Take For More Comfort

There are other measures you can take to make sure you are more comfortable while managing your pain.

• Home Modifications
  You may want to hire a professional to help you make home modifications that will allow you more safety, ease, and convenience. For example, levered faucets can be added that are easier to operate if you have wrist or joint pain. Or sinks can be lowered for wheelchair access.
• The Right Medical Approach
  Make sure that you are speaking to the right expert, checking your medications, and listening to your body to ensure you are doing all you can medically to manage pain.
• Better Diet
  Eat healthy. If you have an inflammatory condition, the wrong foods can trigger pain. Eat a diet rich in colorful produce that is high in antioxidants and reduce your intake of sugar and white flour products.
• Better Sleep Hygiene
  While chronic pain may reduce your ability to sleep well, setting yourself up for a good night’s sleep is a combination of talking to your doctor, creating a relaxing environment, and winding down an hour or two before bed. You should also select the right mattress for your body. This post from Spine Health shows you how to choose one that helps with lower back pain.

Need more resources? Visit the International Pain Foundation website for tips, tools, and information such as the latest clinical trials.

State Of Mind

Your state of mind is one of the most important things to move forward into a fulfilling life. Listen to these tips from people who have risen above their chronic pain struggles:

• Lauren Zalewski, who has lupus and has chronic pain from this incurable illness, writes at The Mighty. She doesn’t allow herself to say, “I’m suffering” from pain and illness. “But suffering is a state of mind I no longer want anything to do with. I believe the opposite of suffering is pleasure or happiness. That I want!” Of course, she doesn’t always feel happy, but this choice has helped her to turn her life around.
• Alisha Nurse, a writer at The InvisibleF.com, has fibromyalgia. She too has several tips for living a fulfilled life. “Taking your life back from chronic pain is worth the time, energy and pain,” she writes. “Your life is worth it, and you are worth it.”
• Read this post at Psych Central on the steps that Tracy Rydzy MSW, LSW, took to make peace with the pain. It didn’t happen overnight, and she stopped looking at pain as “something that was ruining my life…. I started looking at it as something I simply had to work around.”

For more inspiration, check out these six famous and groundbreaking individuals who suffered tremendous physical challenges.

Chronic pain is a real challenge, but it doesn’t need to keep you from living a purposeful and fulfilling life. Take these steps today to move forward.

by Scott Sanders