BY CHERYL M. LUIS
LIVING with chronic pain makes your day-to-day life difficult. Typically, pain is considered chronic when it persists for six months or more. But for some patients, chronic pain can last for years or even a lifetime.
Twenty percent of people experiencing chronic pain say life isn’t worth living, the 60 percent would seek better treatment, if they could afford it. More than three-quarters of people who report being in chronic pain say it has lasted more than three years, and for 29 percent it has lasted more than a decade.
Here are some tips to lessen the pain from chronic pain:
Learn meditation or deep breathing to help you relax. These techniques can help your body relax and can help ease the pain.
Meditation is focusing on your breath, ignoring thoughts, and repeating a word or phrase – a mantra – so your body will relax. It is self-learning but there are also classes available to enroll in if you really can’t do it.
Reduce stress in your life
Stress intensifies chronic pain. Negative feelings like depression, anxiety, stress, and anger can increase the body’s sensitivity to pain. By learning to take control of stress, you may find some relief from chronic pain.
Several techniques can help reduce stress and promote relaxation. Listening to soothing, calming music can lift your mood – and make living with chronic pain more bearable.
Boost chronic pain relief from exercise
Endorphins are brain chemicals that help improve your mood while also blocking pain signals. Exercise has another pain-reducing effect – it strengthens muscles, helping prevent re-injury and further pain.
Plus, exercise can help keep your weight down, reduce heart disease risk, and control blood sugar levels — especially important if you have diabetes. Ask your doctor for an exercise routine that is right for you.
Avoid drinking alcohol, which can worsen sleep problems
Pain makes sleep difficult, and alcohol can make sleep problems worse. If you’re living with chronic pain, drinking less or no alcohol can improve your quality of life.
Join a support group
Meet others living with chronic pain. When you’re with people who have chronic pain and understand what you’re going through, you feel less alone. You also benefit from their wisdom in coping with the pain.
Also, consider meeting with a mental health professional. Anyone can develop depression if they are living with chronic pain. Getting counseling can help you learn to cope better and help you avoid negative thoughts that make the pain worse.
Don’t smoke
Smoking can worsen chronic pain and can worsen painful circulation problems and increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Get a massage
Massage can help reduce stress and relieve tension — and is being used by people living with all sorts of chronic pain, including back and neck pain.
Eat a healthy diet if you’re living with chronic pain
A well-balanced diet is important in many ways – aiding your digestive process, reducing heart disease risk, keeping weight under control, and improving blood sugar levels. To eat a low-fat, low-sodium diet, choose from these: fresh fruits and vegetables; cooked dried beans and peas; whole-grain bread and cereals; low-fat cheese, milk, and yogurt; and lean meats.
Find ways to distract yourself from pain so you enjoy life more
When you focus on pain, it makes it worse rather than better. Instead, find something you like doing — an activity that keeps you busy and thinking about things besides your pain. You might not be able to avoid pain, but you can take control of your life.
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Cheryl M. Luis is the wife of George N. True II. Like her husband, she advocates health and lifestyle writing and vows to continue “Health Frontiers” as her husband’s legacy./PN
