Living with pain is sometimes all consuming of thought and energy.
I recently had a conversation with a friend who has been a counsellor for many years, and after contracting Covid he was left with an auto immune disease which effects him daily. We were sharing whats going on for us at the moment and talking about how different it is being the client and not the counsellor. We laughed about how we never thought we’d be one of ‘those’ people who talk about your ailments over a cup of coffee while soaking up some sunshine.
He asked, “why do you think we talk about our pain or the challenges so often?”
I replied saying, “I guess it is like having a toddler around, always demanding our attention.”
He then thought, “So, how do you we deal with attention seeking toddlers??? As a grand parent, I guess we ignore them?”
“ Well, that’s one way of dealing with them.” I agreed, “Or we could distract them by going for a swim, or a walk, or doing something we enjoy. This always worked for my kids.”
Going for a swim or to the gym, doing some painting or up-cycling are ways I distract my brain from being on the constant merry-go-round of thinking about the pain I’m in and the amount of energy it zaps from me. This is what helps me to live with chronic pain and still smile; to feel like crap and still be patient and caring towards others.
This doesn’t just happen, it is a conscious decision I make every day.
“The longer you have pain, the better your spinal cord gets at producing danger messages to the brain, even if there is no danger in the tissue”
Dr. Lorimer Moseley speaks about how our brain and nervous system ‘learns’ to keep producing pain. This brings hope because they can also learn to stop producing pain.What choices will you make to be the best version of yourself everyday?
I’d love to share your thoughts on this.
