Setting the tone

Spring is almost here...A spring clean of the mind happened for me today. So, for myself and for my followers, I have set the tone of what my blog is all about...do you wanna know?

I set up this blog and Take hold of pain on Facebook to share my wellness journey and provide relevant information about self managing chronic pain. My hope is that it might motivate and inspire people to kick-start their own journey especially with self managing chronic pain. I believe there is such strength in positive wellness stories for those who are in the right space to take them on board...are you ready? So, I want to outline the tone for my blog posts and for the FB community I am building.

I will not be hosting a pity party. This might sound harsh but I know from experience there is no value in rehashing problems and focusing on the challenges and problems a life of chronic pain presents. If you want to win the “I’ve got more pain than you have” competition, this might not be the site for you. Wouldn’t it be better to hear about evidence-based solutions, inspirational stories and techniques that can be implemented to turn down the pain dial? I will be talking about what works for me and how I am dealing with things within my control. I will post about how I cope with my chronic pain, why and how I move to increase strength and flexibility, why and how I use mindfulness and a strong mindset towards my pain, and why and how I fuel myself with fresh wholefoods. It’s about my journey but I hope that others will share their journey too about ways they take hold of their own pain.

Be very clear, I am not perfect (darn it!).  I want this blog to make people aware of my struggles but I want to do it in a way that shows people the reality of living with chronic pain and the importance of self management. I didn’t want to wait until I totally had my pain under control because I acknowledge that is very unlikely to ever happen. So I’m not waiting... I am happy to be honest and share how I am going...on good days, on bad days and all that goes in between. Join me for the ride.

And to finish, here’s another thing I realised this week. I was beating myself up about not being consistent with my posts. Then I realised this project needs to fit in with my life priorities. My main focus at this moment is my health and wellbeing and taking care of my family. I need to prioritise my pain management routine and concentrate on those lifestyle factors that I know are the supporting pillars in my journey (mindset, movement and healthy eating). This all takes time. I also have a young daughter who is still at home with me and an older one at school. I need to fit this project into the small pockets of time I have. So, the tone of this blog is going to be fairly relaxed and a bit haphazard initially. I don’t want to put pressure on myself because I have a lot going on in my life right now and these prioritise need to come first. I hope that’s ok by people. I wouldn’t be setting a very good example if I busted my gut to get a blog post up for you to read but caused myself a major flare up now would I? So I may come and go but be assured I want to be here for my followers. Don’t be afraid to email me or comment because that will get my attention and I want to hear how other people are going. I want to start a conversation.

So that all said, this site focuses on chronic pain management solutions. And they need to come from within because I have found, with regards to managing my chronic pain, if you’re searching for a cure, you need to just take a look in the mirror.