Chronic pain is exactly what it says on the tin… A chronic pain in the bum! However, there is a way to manage chronic pain through distraction. By this, I mean finding activities, hobbies and interests to distract you away from your pain and into the here and now.
This isn’t to say that we should ignore our pain or tell ourselves it is not real or to stop being silly. Distraction tools only work if we are applying all our other chronic pain management tools like pacing, medication, meditation and activity but it’s about losing yourself, finding joy, pride and happiness in something outside of our pain.
So, today I’m going to teach you just that. How can we use distraction to successfully manage chronic pain?
Manage Chronic Pain: My Distraction Tools
Sometimes it is so hard to motivate ourselves to do things when we have chronic pain and fatigue. All I want to do sometimes is fall asleep, hide under my duvet and never come out. However, this is not something I can do especially when I am a parent to a very active 2 year old toddler!
It is even more important for me then that I find ways to manage chronic pain so I can be the best mummy possible to my gorgeous, little boy. Medication and rest go someway to helping me but I need to find other tools.
This is where my distraction tools come in! Here is a list of my top distraction tools:
- Sewing
- TV
- Film
- Podcasts
I know that these activities won’t make my pain disappear but they go someway to helping me cope with the debilitating pain and fatigue I can feel on a daily basis.
These activities are great for my mental health, too and can really help me pull myself out of a mental health slump.
Sewing
I absolutely adore sewing! I only started in December when I got a sewing machine for Christmas but the sense of accomplishment I get when I create something is amazing. I have made skirts, tops, dresses, trousers and things for my little boy. It requires an awful lot of effort especially when pattern cutting but I know that when I start, the pain and tiredness I am in goes to the back of my mind and all I can focus on is my project. It’s my no 1 way to manage chronic pain!
If you want to learn to sew Youtube is a really great place to start. This is where I began and managed to make a skirt to wear on Christmas Day. I then progressed to going to sewing workshops at my local fabric shop and can even make things without patterns now, too.
Charity shops are great places to find patterns for 50p or so and spare fabric. Ebay is also great for buying fabric or again can be done very cheaply by visiting your charity shop.
TV and Film
After a day of parenting, I love nothing more than coming downstairs and watching a good TV programme or a film. The TV programme we are watching at the moment is The Sopranos, which is know is old but I’d never seen it before. If you don’t like violence or swearing it really isn’t the show for you but it is about a mafia family unit and all their goings on in and out the gang. It’s a very complicated show to describe but once you watch one episode, you’ll be hooked.
A film we watched recently as well is called King Richard. This is slightly easier to explain and is a biopic of the father to Serena and Venus Williams and how he pushed them to become champions at tennis. A really great watch and there’s an amazing Beyonce song at the end that I am currently obsessed with called Be Alive.
Again, my pain and fatigue doesn’t magically disappear by watching these but it means I can rest on the sofa with my hot water bottle, hot chocolate and snacks and lose myself in some good TV!
Mummy The Fibro Warrior Top Tip:
- Find your distraction tool to take you out of your pain; even if it’s just for a moment!
If there is one takeaway I’d like you all to remember today is that to manage chronic pain can be so tough but by following all your tools, techniques and applying a few distraction techniques in there, it can get a little easier. I need you to know you are doing the best you can, your child/children love you just as you are and you are Mummy the Fibro Warrior!
Until next time,
x
p.s. What distraction techniques do you use? Please do let me know in the comments below. I’ve been overjoyed at the comments I’ve been receiving recently so please do keep them coming 🙂
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