Life with Chronic Pain Blog

Is obesity a stigma?

Obese, just hearing this word makes you irritated. It gets even worse hearing „morbid obesity.” It might be caused by my experience as a nurse, that I saw lots of forms written by doctors who did physical exams on the patients. Just hearing „morbidly obese” makes me shiver. It is really strange how just two words can mark a person as someone kind of a lesser race. The matter of someone’s weight is always a very delicate one. Especially when it is larger than we’d want it to be. Many people would like to be thinner, but some people have it harder to change things. People with arthritis who take various doses of prednisone, probably know how it affects their bodies. Fat deposits moving around our bodies is a real pain. You’d just wanted it to travel out of your body, unfortunately it won’t happen by itself. Because of the moving fat deposits, you have to forget about having a thin chin or waist. It can be a real drama for many people, and I admit, women take it much worse than men.
Every now and then, a new diet book is released on the market that claims to have the wonderful answer to everyone’s problems. Read the rest of this entry

Keep your balance struggling with chronic pain

I think I don’t need to say this… Those who live with chronic pain know very well how it is to feel unsteady on our feet. We know how easy it is to stumble or fall. Staying upright seems to be so natural- yes, but not when it hurts you so much that you think of nothing else but sitting. You know what I’m talking about guys. Sometimes moving is simply too much. We need to push ourselves and it’s really good to have some duties which motivate us to move. This can be an activity as simple as cleaning or cooking. What counts is that our muscles keep moving. Let’s not pretend, when you live with chronic pain physical fitness is definitely not one of your good points. And such everyday obligations help us stay as much fit as it is possible. I’m not going to lie, I never was an athlete and I was never keen on physical exercises. The truth is that if I only did what I really want doing, I’d do very little. Ok, it is necessary to rest and sleep as it regenerate our bodies. Unfortunately, regeneration may be overdosed just like medicines. We first should make our body a little tired in order to build strength, encourage stabilization, keep good posture and sufficient balance. Then, we can think about resting without regret. I could speak of many things now, but this time I decided to focus on balance and posture. Read the rest of this entry

Keeping our brains moved regardless of bodies limitations

People living with chronic pain will sooner or later get used to the fact that physically they are not able do so much as they used to. Ok, we need to accept it. But, unlike the body which has its limitations, our brains still needs to be exercised in order not to lose its abilities. If you think that your brain will function great till the rest of your life just like that without your effort and work, you are wrong. Don’t you expect too much easiness? No, no, no, you will need to give something from yourself to keep your brain working well.
Yesterday, in Dr. Andrew Weil’s newsletter through EverydayHealth.com, specifically his category called Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging, he discussed the importance of working the brain to preserve our memory. According to the study from the American Academy of Neurology, “reading, playing games, spending time on the computer and engaging in crafts such as pottery and quilting can cat your risk of memory loss by 30-50% compared to people who don’t do those things.” Read the rest of this entry

The importance of love in the battle with chronic pain

No guys, it is not going to be about sex. Sure, another time, no problem. But today I would like to focus on the other aspect of love.
There are so many songs which say: “All we need is love”. Indeed, love has a therapeutic quality.  But what love we are talking about- the one we give or the one we receive? What is better- to love or to be loved? Get ready guys, cause we are going to delve into this issue now.

I was really surprised by the huge response this blog received when I wrote about the important role our pets play in our lives. I started to think about it. Let’s say I got a little bit deeper into this issue. I asked myself- what’s going on? What’ this all about? Is it about the unconditional love we get from our pets or is it about the responsible love we give to them? I realized that we, people simply love to be in love. And the retail world makes a great business on this if we think of all the “love” holidays, such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day. Read the rest of this entry

The good points of what we are going through

However crazy that might sound, have you ever thought about all the valuable and beautiful  issues that became a part of your life from the moment you started to struggle with chronic pain? Beautiful? Yes! It was not a joke, not this time my dear. Let me explain. But to do this I would like you to do something for me. Come on, it’s just a small request, I’m sure you can handle it. I would like you to step back, limp back or if you must fall back from your life and while you’re sitting there, take a comprehensive look at all you have left.
It’s no secret- your life has gone through a total change, just as mine. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, you have been lifted up against your will and taken to another land. Let’s not pretend, your trip is not the one you wished for. But that exactly what happened and you can’t make a formal complaint about that. But what you can do is to try to find the good points of it.
Of course, it would be much easier to stick to this “ loser attitude” concentrating on how poor we are now. The question is: are we? Ok, let’s say you have a choice. You can either keep on mourning your loss or try to discover something positive about that. Remember that self-pity can be as much dangerous and destructive as your pain. So, isn’t it better to welcome the new you and accept the new rules in your life? Read the rest of this entry

The search for hope in life with chronic pain

Sometimes I wake up with a feeling that life is too much to go through. Don’t we all have moments like these? It is so hard to accept that our worst enemy- pain is much stronger than we are. It is capable of taking control over the way we perceive all the aspects of living. I am fighting with my own body. Actually, there are days I think the mission of my body is to destroy me completely, if not to kill me. Yet I’m still living in that body and that seems to be the biggest paradox of my life. No way out! I’m to stay in my body although it makes my life a nightmare. I know that we all have the same problem. And I know each of us has their own way of coping with life in chronic pain. I know that one of the most effective weapon to fight our misery is to keep a positive attitude. It’s up to our individual taste how we try to maintain it. Some may read or watch humorous stories or movies, some may listen to or say some jokes, some may play with their kids and beloved pets. You know what is very interesting here? In my case it is that I can’t always switch into this pleasant state of mind. So I start pretending and you know what? Sometimes, when I pretend that I’m great, this good state really comes. Have no idea how that happens but I like it so much. Read the rest of this entry

We all belong to one empathic family

You know what I often think about? Here, on this blog, we seem to know each other very well, and at the same time we haven’t even seen each other. How is this possible? Looks like pain can be uniting, am I right? Of course, I wish that it was something else that makes us united, that makes us friends, but this is exactly the suffering that drew us closer to each other.
I sometimes wonder would we become friends if we met in reality? I mean the reality which is free from our conditions. I don’t know that. But what I know for sure is that here, on the chronic pain blog we are all equal and nobody is judged. So my question is- do we really need to suffer to understand each other in this crazy world? And do we really need to suffer to appreciate what life brings with itself- the priceless gift of nature? Indeed, I noticed that many of us living in pain chose to live near nature. Pain let us perceive the earth blessings in a special way. I mean, all that surrounds us, whatever it is- water, forests, plains, flowers, animals, gets a special meaning and our need to see and feel it is bigger than ever. Read the rest of this entry

History is the best teacher

If we consider the social, and political life, all the nations should learn from  the past in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and wars in the future. But learning from the past is not a rule that applies only to whole nations. It also applies to individuals who should look back to their history, the history of the families to learn their roots. History is the best teacher as it can’t be denied. It gives facts.  I think it’s quite the same with those who are dealing with some kind of chronic pain. Each of us who suffers from this, especially if it is a result of chronic illness, should know what is in our gene pool by studying our families, reading and listening to the older family members.
What else  can we discover if we look toward the past? I think we can get awareness of the changes, the progress, the development in various areas of life. Maybe we don’t think about that every day, as each day has its own worries and problems, joys and surprises, but it takes just a while to imagine how life was then and how it is now.
It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of my poems with you. I would like to include a published work which I wrote two years ago. I guess it is devoted to my feelings that some special things evoked in me. For instance, I have great sentiment to people who lived before we did. How they prepared the path for us. And how we continue the journey in Read the rest of this entry

Life with constant pain teaches you three things

Have you changed since you started having daily pain? Such pain is an unwelcome visitor. One day I realized I have changed, I started to value different things especially those simple ones.
Today I would like to talk about those three changes, in: most important things, perspective and simple steps in life. If you haven’t thought about it yet, you may try to go on that journey.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS CHANGE: The career was always important to me, I got through school, become a nurse and worked for my family. My children have always been important to me, but my career was as important. This changes when you can no longer work. You lose something which was a great part of your life. The pain of losing that part added up to my physical pain leaving me angry and frustrated. My life became harder. I often asked myself, “Who am I if I’m no longer a nurse?”
I was painfully searching who I still was because I had to make a list what I had left. I had a loving husband, great children old enough to start their own lives and a few talents I didn’t know before. I wasn’t aware of them and spent many hours praying, thinking and looking inside my soul. If the doors closed in front of me, I had always believed Read the rest of this entry

Rely on the dog for the best therapy

Today, I thought we can think of something different than our problems and enjoy the great world of pet therapy. Service dogs, therapy dogs and guide dogs can do the job well. I am very interested in pets, read books, magazines and information on the Internet and what I found is that they are very intelligent. They are not stupid at all. I’ve always known that, especially when I’m bringing shopping into my front door. My two beloved creatures jump at me, bark, greet and just enjoy the fact I’m home. I usually look at them and ask them “Maybe you can help me with the bags?” Poor unaware dogs sleeping in a warm bed, eat nice food they don’t have to make and not even pay for it.
All of us who have pets and don’t have easy life because of the chronic illness, are already having a pet therapy. We get exercises from them as we need to take them for a walk, walk down the stairs. We need to stretch to give them food and water, clean pet boxes or they ask us to play with them by standing in front of us with a toy in their mouths while wagging their tails. We usually take the challenge, pick up the toy and throw or toss it down the hall. My dog will surely run after a ball until his last breath. Even when you want to wipe him when he is wet from rain, he thinks we’re playing with the towel. My other dog is different. She doesn’t like playing with others. She’d rather take a ball and hide it somewhere, to have it only for herself. She seems to be more grown up and human. She wants every raindrop wiped from her while standing still. Read the rest of this entry