Strategies for Managing Chronic Pain
Diana Gudim, R.Psych.
If you suffer from chronic pain, you’ve probably made a connection between flare ups and the weather. Whether it’s the air pressure, humidity, temperature, or sudden changes in weather that affects you—one thing is for certain—the ice/heat, creams, meds, and/or yoga mat are coming out.
Though we can’t change the chinooks in Calgary, we do have some proven strategies for managing your chronic pain:
Pace your daily/weekly tasks and activities.
Avoid pushing yourself beyond what you can reasonably do without resulting in a pain hangover effect where we take days to recover from over extending ourselves.
Stay within your daily energy budget.
Avoid energy overdraft as it takes away from tomorrows tasks and activities and has a negative impact on mood.
Manage your expectations of yourself.
Often on a good day, we burn the candle at both ends making up for lost time, resulting in days spent recovering.
Use creative and alternative ways to complete tasks and activities.
Prep dinner sitting down, answer texts/emails from the bath (no one will know!) plan for breaks while out and about.
Continue with your regular exercise or add exercise as advised by your medical team.
Moving our body helps improve mood, resiliency and builds a sense of hope in our ability to cope with pain.
Engage in mindful techniques such as meditation or guided body scans.
Mindful activities provide a sense of calm, peace, and decreases our stress response to pain.
Use a gratitude journal to keep sight of the positives in your life.
Life with pain can look dark and at times needs a positive balancing perspective.
Get outside everyday for a bit of fresh air.
Exposure to sunshine and the outside has a positive impact on our mood which is inversely connected to our pain level.
Spend time with supportive others.
Feeling connected to others improves our ability to cope with challenge and feelings of isolation.
Do more of what brings you joy.
Whether it’s exploring a new neighbourhood, working with your hands, or [insert favourite hobby here], getting absorbed in something we enjoy is not only a great distraction, it can release our feel good hormones (serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin) and reduce feelings of pain, depression, and/or anxiety.
If you would like to know more about managing your chronic pain, we have a team of therapists ready to help.
