pain and another day

I have no great advice regarding living with pain. I'm just a 43-year-old woman struggling with chronic pain. I can, however, tell you what I've learned from the mistakes I've made.

First of all, being in pain everyday is difficult for family and loved ones to see everyday. The don't know what to say anymore. They don't know what to do, even though al you might need is a hug, a few warm words of encouragement, to be heard.

For those of us living with chronic pain conditions there needs to be a way for us to vent, talk about how bad the pain is and release the built up anxiety and stress.

There's counseling, which I recommend. There's journaling, which I'm a huge fan of. We can find a confidant who isn't overwhelmed by our pain because they don't live with it day in and day out. We can reach out to others with similar conditions to learn ways to cope that we never thought of.

I suppose that my point is that families and loved ones can only take so much. It's a scary thought, but if we feel overwhelmed and hopeless in our pain imagine how they feel watching it every minute.

Yesterday I had a major anxiety in conjunction with a terrible flare up of pain. I cannot always control it, but boy did it cause chaos in my house. I learned a lot from it. I should have just taken slow deep breaths, taken a shower or bath, waiting for the pain medication to at least take the edge off. I would have hurt less and I would have hurt my family less.

I'm in terrible pain today. My legs are throbbing and my shoulders, arms and neck are burning with such deep pain I cannot describe it. So, I'll find a quiet activity (like writing) and rest with my heating pads. I don't need to complain or rant. I just need to breathe.

It shouldn't be miserable every minute when we have chronic pain.

peace and love,

sunee