Did you know there are 100 million Americans who experience chronic pain – more than those who have diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined?
And I’m sure you know that pain is your body’s alarm system. So when you feel pain, your body is telling you something is wrong and needs attention. Living with chronic pain can be debilitating and affects everyday life in so many ways. So we’re going to talk more about that and steps you can do if that’s you or a loved one.
What is Pain and How Does It Affect You?
Pain is defined as “an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, caused by illness or injury.” You may have pain after hitting your toe or after breaking a bone or surgery, or following childbirth. But those types of pain we refer to as acute pain. It usually happens suddenly, is caused by something specific, and resolves within a short duration.
But if you have pain longer than six months to many years, that is referred to as chronic pain. It continues even after the injury or illness has healed. And that’s what I’m talking about today.
Chronic pain may affect your joints, muscles, bones, or any part of your body such as headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, back pain, and neck pain. But it can also refer to intestinal pain or stomach pain after eating or all the time like in IBS or IBD or Crohn’s Disease. All over pain may be indicative of someone who has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Fibromyalgia, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Besides the Obvious Pain in the Affected Area, How Else Does Chronic Pain Affect You?
Daily life – From getting up out of bed or a chair to cooking to cleaning to paying bills to working to handling family responsibilities. It affects relationships with family, friends, your job, extracurricular activities, socialization, etc.
When you are in constant or continual pain, it affects your mental, emotional health, and spiritual health. It affects how you see the world, how you react to life, how you react to minor inconveniences not to mention the big challenges.
And the chronic pain can cause more stress, depression, anxiety, and fear of re-injury.
The goal of pain management is to help you function with the best quality of life as possible and achieve your optimal health. And when you put yourself in control, it helps you manage pain better and not feel so fearful or anxious.
I know for me personally my autoimmune condition (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis), my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and IBS often cause pain in multiple areas. When you have any autoimmune condition, your body is more easily inflamed than someone who doesn’t have an autoimmune issue. So you may feel pain more intensely or may react with more symptoms than others.
You don’t usually heal as quickly so the prolonged pain can be detrimental to mental and emotional health. This can be an issue because your family or friends may not really understand, may not be sympathetic or empathetic to you and your pain, and your employer may not understand so your job is in jeopardy.
And regarding spiritual health, I know personally and from clients we have felt like maybe God doesn’t care or asked the “Why me?” question. So if you have felt that way, you are not alone.
But I want to give you hope. Because there are some things you can do. Things you do have control over.
What are Things You Can Do?
Quite Time – Begin the day and end the day with quiet time and a time of gratitude. Start with reading the Bible and a devotional, something uplifting or educational, and writing down things I’m thankful for just helps my day begin on a positive note. No matter who you are, there is something you can be grateful for – no matter how small.
Stay active as much as possible. I know for me personally I wake up with some back pain and some other joint pain. It fluctuates in severity and some days have very little, other days a lot. I’ve learned how to begin my day with my quiet time, and then I do some gentle stretching and resting on my back with my knees bent and a pillow underneath. Then I use my massage gun (love it) or sometimes I’ll use a tennis ball to roll out painful areas. Then I still may be having a little pain, but I go for a walk and that helps my pain to decrease more and lifts my mood.
Practice stress management and relaxation techniques – I use deep breathing techniques such as the 4-7-8 or 5-5-5 methods. You simply inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, and exhale for a count of 8. Do that 5 times. Sometimes as I inhale I say, “I’m breathing in Jesus.” Then as I exhale I say, I’m breathing out love.” Or one of the fruits of the spirit. This reminds me God is there and resets my attitude while calming my spirit.
Pace yourself – Doing too much or too little is a balancing act. It is bio-individual and depends on each person. I have to pace myself with daily activities, resting my back, standing and not sitting too much (for me sitting too much causes more pain), and learning how to say no.
Listening to music and getting outside – Both of these help encourage me to slow down and focus on something beautiful – music and nature.
Connections with others – This is key for me and many of my clients. When in pain, we hurt so much we don’t want to be around people. But being with others can help lift your mood, decrease the depression. and help you focus on someone else. Socialization is a great distractor and helps to remind me that there are others who care about me just like I care about them. Plus, talking to family or friends you’re close to is beneficial.
Helping someone else – Volunteering is a great way to help others. I do this with a ministry at my church with shut-ins or those who are ill. If I’m hurting too badly and can’t go visit, I can call or text. Joining organizations or like-minded groups in the community or church are wonderful options. There is always a need somewhere. I belong to a couple of Bible studies with ladies who can pray for me as I pray for them which lifts my spirit.
Sleep – This is so key for our overall health but really helps with pain management. If you don’t sleep enough or it is poor quality, the pain worsens. By by using sleep hygiene techniques, you can often increase the quality. These are things like a calm bedtime routine of taking a warm bath or shower an hour before bed, dimming the lights, having the air a little cooler in your bedroom, and making sure your bedroom is dark and free of electronics is helpful. And some people find help in using natural products like magnesium capsules or lotions, Epsom salt baths, or essential oils such as lavender to calm.
Scheduling enjoyable activities – Pain management also focuses on creating opportunities to remain positive and have fun. Having fun actually helps boost levels of four feel-good hormones or chemicals: endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. This is actually proven by scientific research.
Endorphins are hormones that your body releases when it feels pain or stress. But they’re also released during pleasurable activities like exercise, massage, eating, laughing, dancing, intimacy, listening to music, and getting outdoors. Other chemicals like dopamine are produced when we feel satisfied, excited, and stimulated. Oxytocin is linked to relationships and bonding with other humans or even our pets. And serotonin is produced during fun activities which helps regulate sleep, mood, and memory better. So we want to find more ways to do pleasurable activities to crowd out or distract us from the pain.
Nutrition – Finally, we know that eating more real, whole foods are healthier and anti-inflammatory, but processed and refined foods with sugar and poor ingredients can worsen your inflammation and pain. Just begin today with adding in one healthier food at one meal.
I hope that is helpful. By understanding some of the causes of your own pain and alternative strategies, you might be able to help alleviate pain and find what works best for you.
Remember to do the things you can do, what you do have control over -lifestyle changes like diet, exercise, and relaxation, how you sleep, how to manage stress, and adding fun activities into your life. You may not always be able to control outside factors but there are many things you do have control over. Do one small step at a time.
I’ve been where you are – exhausted, in pain, stressed, foggy brain, trouble keeping weight off, and belly bloat. Didn’t seem to matter what I ate – I gained weight and felt frustrated. And as a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach now, I have clients who feel the same. But I’ve got good news. You can learn simple small steps to help you decrease your pain, increase energy, and develop life-long habits so you’ll enjoy life again. Contact me here for a FREE 20 minute consult to see how I can help you. You are not alone. — Leah Cheshire, NBC-HWC
