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.

Managing flare ups

While I have been self managing my chronic back pain now for over 6 years, I still get flare ups. I was never under the disillusion that my pain would go away. So now when pain looms, I use my flare up management strategies. I know just what to do.

Even though it can be worthwhile to reflect on the reason (i.e. Did I over do it? Have I been neglecting my daily stretches? Did I stand or sit for too long without moving?) I am less focused on trying to figure out the cause of increased pain. I find it’s more important to launch into action.

So here is my step by step approach to managing a flare up:

Accept. Often my flare ups are still caused by overdoing it! Yes, I know all about pacing, taking breaks and have a good understanding of my own limitations but sometimes I still push through and over do it. But rather than beat myself up with guilt and blame and anger…I just stop, nourish, repair, move on. I also am much more willing to accept and just acknowledge that sometimes it is OK to have a bad day (I give myself a free pass - more on this soon). Also by simply accepting the pain, I am less likely to buy into negative, unhelpful thoughts which could develop into a snowball.

Plan. I need to make sure I communicate and get help if I need it. I know my bad flare ups last maximum of a day or two. I can deal with that. Two days is not a lifetime.While this may cause a problem if I have commitments/events, I just accept that my plans may need to be re-scheduled, re-organised or prioritised.   I will work simply from a daily plan worksheet, breaking my day into small manageable chunks with lots of breaks and only the necessary jobs (of which, walking, stretches and exercises get top billing!).

Act.  I have a list of activities I can do that I know will turn down my pain dial. I choose one of these and act. I don’t rest anymore or ruminate or wallow in my pain (that gets you nowhere or backwards - fast!). Your loved ones will soon recognize flare ups coming on too and if you share your flare up action plan with them, they can help. My daughter has told me I needed to do some stretches when I told her my back was sore. My husband often tells me it’s time to go out for a walk or he sends me to my room some meditation time. So I will go sit, stretch, breathe, relax. Remove some of the mental clutter. I need to do activities that turn the dial down. Here are some examples of things that work well for me:

Helpful thoughts

Relaxation/meditation

Stretching

Going for a walk

Listening to a motivating podcast/music or reading book

Awareness (posture, thoughts, activities)

Pacing (take breaks)

Carefully preparing a nourishing meal/snack

Be: I re-connect with the present moment, I cannot change the way things are right now so if I practice mindfulness and be aware of what I am doing, I can resume my normal day to day  activities much more refreshed and ready to cope with the current situation.

What do you do? A flare up action plan might be a good starting point. Take note of helpful thoughts or activities that you know turn down your pain dial and be aware of pacing cues, timing and taking breaks.