Drugs can help calm pain, but not eliminate it. You should also adopt healthy eating habits and a positive attitude.
Chronic pain is an invisible enemy that imprisons the bereaved. Locks him in his cell to get away from the reality that surrounds him. It deprives you, sometimes, of your usual routine, the one that redefines you as a person.
This, in turn, affects the patient in areas related to work, family and friends, who are relegated to the background due to the inability to “function properly”.
The pain immobilizes, there is no doubt, and more when it persists over time. Hence, the importance of a new approach where drugs are not the only and indispensable resource.
It is important to know that chronic pain is a complex ailment where various physical, psychological and neurological factors intermingle. This is stated in this report by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
This situation is challenging, it is true, but there are enough weapons to face it and obtain a better quality of life. Let us see, then, how it can be faced.
Do you really suffer from chronic pain?
The first and indispensable step is to identify what this pain is due to. Medical diagnoses are the ones that will give an idea of what is happening, but it is necessary to distinguish the difference between “pain” and “chronic pain”.
An accident, a broken bone or a postoperative period are common situations in which you suffer. When that suffering continues beyond six months, life begins to have another conception and the person begins to resort to drugs, energy, motivation is lost…
A door seems to open to the darkness in which you are trapped. And it is even more complicated in the case, for example, of people affected by fibromyalgia, where the diagnosis takes a long time to arrive.
It can take months, and even years, without a clear result being obtained from the cause of the general malaise that makes it difficult for them to lead a normal life.
Knowing what is happening in the body is the first step to overcome this process. Here are some guidelines for coping with chronic pain in a less painful way.
Psychological guidelines for dealing with chronic pain
Technique of the “A”
Usually, pain is often thought of as momentary or temporary. An atypical situation that will be alleviated with a painkiller or with rest.
However, when a diagnosis is finally obtained and it is discovered that the pain is going to last over time, the psychological impact suffered can be brutal.
Here, it is allowed to experience anxiety, rage and fear at that feeling of suffering. This is a process in which a whole series of feelings and emotions will emerge that you must satisfy and identify and then face.
For all these reasons, it is necessary to know the simple technique of the three “As”:
- Accept but don’t avoid. Assume that you are in pain, but this is not synonymous with stillness or avoiding what is part of life and defines you as a person. Seek the support of yours, face each moment with the maximum energy possible.
- I agree to continue experimenting. The day to day forces us to keep going, to offer sensations and emotions that do not have to turn our faces.
- Accepting is synonymous with commitment. Understand that you suffer from a certain disease, that pain will be present on certain occasions. However, you must make a commitment to face it. You have to adapt your goals to your own abilities to obtain the maximum possible benefits.
The weapons of thought
Emotions directly affect the feeling of pain. On those days when one is more stressed or heavy, chronic pain appears in the body with greater incidence. How about then if you learn to master your thoughts, to turn them towards positivity as much as possible?
If negative thinking is going to hurt, it is best to recognize the times when those thoughts begin to emerge. In the morning, for example, when you get out of bed and feel that your body is not responding to you, it is forbidden to think “I cannot” or ” I will not be able to do this .”
Change it to “I’m going to try” or better yet, “I’m going to get it.”
The clock can wait
You have to understand that other rhythms are necessary. Life is not a career, but a walk in which to learn to be happy. It is clear that there are obligations and pain is sometimes not going to allow you to reach all those goals that the mindsets.
The body now requires a little more time to carry out normal activities and not fall into the two most common mistakes:
- Eliminate those activities that are pleasant, such as staying for a coffee, taking the children to the park or going out with friends. Your personal time is irreplaceable.
- Take advantage of those days when you feel better to carry out all the pending obligations. What is that going to mean? An unnecessary overstrain that will further exacerbate chronic pain the next day.
It is very important, then, to control your self-demand. But, in addition, it is essential to mark breaks to enjoy life and loved ones. Also, tasks should be delegated and each and every responsibility should not be carried on the back.
The treasure of values
Even if the idea terrifies you, sometimes chronic pain can limit certain aspects of life that used to determine your personality.
You may have to stop working or stop doing certain activities that were important to you before. It’s possible. But this in turn opens a new stage in which to rethink many aspects of life, such as values themselves.
What is really important to me? What do I value the most? Am I acting consistently with my own principles?
It is therefore essential to ask all these questions. Evaluate if it is time to act according to them, according to what is really important.
A favor for your body: relaxation
One of the best techniques is the so-called “Jacobson” relaxation, according to this report by a team from the University of Almería.
It is based on tightening and loosening the different muscle groups of the body, eliminating stiffness, to leave it suspended in a state of calm and relaxation. It is then enough to look for a quiet corner of the house and start practicing it every day.
If you are consistent with this procedure, you will notice the benefits in a short time.
Maintain a balanced diet
The exclusive use of drugs is not going to help you solve the pain problem. Hence also arises the importance of compensating for balance by relying on correct eating habits.
Although they will not eliminate pain, they will be very useful for your body.
Foods you should NOT take
- Highly sugary, refined or fried products.
- Proteins of animal origin, such as sausages. Foods rich in oxalate or uric acid, such as red meat, are also not recommended.
- Alcohol.
Recommended foods against chronic pain
- Fresh vegetables: especially carrot, garlic, onion, celery, aloe…
- Foods rich in: potassium, zinc, selenium and silicon, highly recommended for example to treat fibromyalgia.
- Vegetable fats: such as olive, sesame or sunflower oil.
- Whole grains: such as amaranth, millet, or corn. They are rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals.
- Magnesium: intervenes in the process of muscle contraction.
- Antioxidants: Vitamin C, A, and E, included in carrot, orange, avocado, lemon …
- Vegetable oils and milk. Soy or almond milk, for example, are an indispensable source of calcium that we must not fail to include in our diet.
Never stop fighting chronic pain
Waking up in pain day after day is, unfortunately, a life-limiting and frustrating experience.
Fibromyalgia, arthritis, low back pain or lupus are complex diseases that affect the optimal development of life. However, you should not view them as stationary or paralyzing situations.
Chronic pain is not a label to put on yourself when looking in the mirror. It is a challenge to face, moment by moment; with which to learn to know yourself better.
You should know that having a good quality of life will depend, directly, on your state of mind. You will achieve this with the help of your own, with positive thoughts and, of course, with the strength that characterizes you.