Get Rid of Stress
Stress is your body’s natural response to danger to trigger life-saving behavior. Unfortunately, stress has become a daily problem in modern society caused by non-life threatening sources, like financial woes and job security. The toll untreated stress has on your already suffering body is devastating. Stress will aggravate pain triggers and intensify your pain. Stress creates a sense of helplessness at a time you’re already feeling bad. Remove stressors starting with the most obvious, like toxic people, then move on to solvable problems like budgeting finances. Soon, you will take on a positive outlook.
Remain Physically Active
When your pain is at its worse, your bed calls to you. You have to take care of yourself, after all, and that may mean sleeping to help your body heal. Thing is, this is an easy habit to fall into whether you have excruciating pain or a general sense of malaise. Physical activity is critical for your health; moving around keeps your muscles and joints functioning and energizes your circulatory system.
Chronic pain sufferers are at risk of weight gain and loss of strength and mobility when they become bid-ridden. Walk every day, if nothing else. Make going to the gym a part of your daily or weekly routine, even if it’s only to use the treadmill. Take advantage of physical therapy if your doctor suggests it as the stretching and strengthening can ease some types of pain. Find something physical you love to do, like hiking, swimming, or yoga. In addition to the health benefits, you’ll feel great mentally.
Connect With a Support System
You are not alone in your chronic pain. It’s easy to feel marginalized and isolate yourself when the people around you don’t comprehend the constant discomfort you experience. Keeping your feelings bottled up only worsens the symptoms as stress builds leading to more pain. Without venting, it’s easy to fall into a downward spiral. Support groups exist for this reason, both online and in person, to help pain sufferers find a caring and relatable audience willing to listen and to give useful coping advice.
Clean Up Your Diet
You might not realize it, but some foods can cause pain. For instance, dairy is inflammatory, which can aggravate any pain you experience associated with inflammation. To figure out what foods might be exacerbating your chronic pain, follow an elimination diet by removing all potential problem foods to cleanse your body. After a few weeks of clean eating, you reintroduce one food type at a time while tracking any problems that appear soon after eating, such as bloating, headache, and eczema. It’s possible you will discover some pain relief by eliminating a specific problem food.
How you take charge of your chronic pain is up to you. Remember, no one else can do these things for you, but they can support you in your decisions and lifestyle changes.
