Pain Cures That Work

Chronic pain affects millions and millions of people, many of whom live in silence.

It is strange because it kind of creeps up on you. It subtly takes over you life and you don’t really realize you are having a problem until you have an acute flare-up.  Body parts degenerate after time.  It may take a while to fall apart.

You may not do the things you used to be able to do and maybe even baby yourself a little. Your life becomes smaller and you loose your sense of adventure. There are things you are afraid to do and you don’t feel yourself. You may not even recognize this departure to self until you are restored to self.  You may be feeling so bad you don’t know what the first step to take might be.

Pain is inevitable.  But, you can lessen the suffering.  Although pain and suffering are often used synonymously, pain is the signal from you body and suffering is the interpretation of that signal.

Suffering is optional.  Sometimes, when the anticipation of pain expectation is lowered, the brain is less responsive to the incoming pain signal.  Separate pain from suffering.  Pain is a sensation.  Suffering is the emotional attachment to it: depression and stories you tell yourself can mount the pain and intensity.

Accepting the Unacceptable Reality of Depression

Depression, according to John Hopkins Hospital, can exacerbate chronic pain.   Who wouldn’t be depressed knowing that every moment to come would be tainted by pain?  Depressed by the thought of no relief, not a day, an hour even a minute from driving pain.  Pain can eclipse everything as the quality of life diminishes.  It can hold you hostage with inability to cope with chronic pain.

But the answer to this mental state is simple: acceptance. The fact is you may feel pain today.  But, the past does not predict the future.

Rather than giving in to passivity and complete helplessness, or continuing with unsuccessful attempts to fight your depression, acceptance allows you to face reality and tell yourself, “All right. This is how things are right now, right in this instant. What actions can I take in this moment to take care of myself even while I’m feeling depressed?”

Pain can destroy happiness, causing to remove yourself from joyous events, which  can also be self-fulfilling.  By refusing to engage in life, a self-loathing can take place and pain can sharply increase. If you want to alleviate the pain you are in, a good step is accepting your condition without self-pity.

Illness can magnify with the sense that everything in life is tainted by pain. You cannot afford that sense if you want to experience life again.

How Would You Answer: “If I Lived in a World with Less Pain, I Could…”

What is your goal? Could be as easy as picking your child, going dancing with your husband, or get to work without pain. You can decide what to do with your life.

Set small attainable ambitions for yourself, and lots of them.  In the process of meeting your goals, you can experience the fullness of life, both pain and pleasure.  Maybe over the years you didn’t even notice that you lost the ability to feel pleasure. You only felt pain.

Today can be a joy. You may still have chronic pain, but you can have life away from the usual pharmacological tools that remove pain as much as they also remove pleasure.

There are plenty of folks who experience injury and a wide variety of injury.  As a result, many are addicted to painkillers.  Essentially, the injury – whatever great or small that may be – becomes their life.  Separate yourself from the injury, get on the right track and get definitive treatment.

Don’t take pain laying down, with a depression cocktail or playing the bad memory tapes in your head on “repeat.” If life is getting smaller and smaller and you don’t feel like yourself anymore, do something about it!

A Quick Summary Of What To Do To Get Better*

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  Accept that life has changed, and that it is your responsibility to make the most of what you are.
• Believe in God and pray for help. Thank God for a shot at a new and different life.
• Build a team of medical supporters who know you, know what you want and take their advice.
• Good days and bad days just happen.
• Look at the big problem, break it into smaller component problems then solve for these smaller problems. The big problem then starts to fix itself.
• Do something positive and different every day–even if it’s tiny. Remember any plan attempted today is better than a great plan scheduled for tomorrow.
• Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and look at how life has changed all of those lives around you.
• You are no saint, but do the best you can, even if you screw-up more often than you are successful. All you can do you my best.

Once you get great help, you’ll begin to realize how much of life you were missing. There is always a solution to improve the quality of your life!

What has been your experience with depression and chronic pain?

 

Grandma Barton is mother to Joe Barton (founder of Barton Publishing), grandmother to 6 grandkids and 28 step-grandkids, and over 3000 Home Cures That Work members. She is a two-time breast cancer survivor with the help of Dr. Saunders and natural remedies. Grandma loves finding cures within the home to treat all sorts of ailments. With tips she’s learned on the farm and along the way, Grandma Barton brings a time-tested and trusted voice when it comes to home remedies. She really is an inspiration to us all.

 

 * Taken from http://jackbauerdeclassified.typepad.com/chronic_pain_lifestyle/acceptance/page/2/