Pain often comes along with unpleasant emotions, experiences, and physical damage to the body. Pain is said to be chronic when it has afflicted the sufferer for more than three months. Millions of people around the world have to deal with chronic pain daily.
Some kinds of chronic pain are easy to diagnose and treat, while others would occur without a known cause or linger long after the cause has been treated.
There are a few ways that one can manage chronic pain. This may be done with or without medication.
Medications used to treat chronic pain include both prescription and over-the-counter medication, surgery, physical therapy, and complementary / alternative medicine.
Here are a few other useful tips for managing chronic pain.
Meditation and Deep Breathing
When it comes to chronic pain, our bodies get too tense which wears out our muscles and cause damage. For this reason, we need to practice relaxation techniques that can calm us down.
Several studies have shown that meditation helps us relax, and acts as a hindrance against anxiety, depression, and even common wounds.
To meditate; you need to sit in a quiet and peaceful place, maintain a good posture, repeat soothing words (that are comforting for you), ignore distracting thoughts, and close your eyes for 10-20 minutes. It is preferred to sit rather than lie down. Take deep breaths — hold your breath in and slowly let it out.
Medical Cannabis
“From the ancient Chinese 5,000 years ago till today, Cannabis is an all natural and non-toxic plant that contain Cannabinoids, currently undergoing studies for it’s potential in fighting off cancer, reducing inflammation, and chronic pain among other uses,” says online dispensary www.Kolas.com.
There is some evidence to suggest that Cannabis can help in treating neuropathic pain (which is chronic as well), albeit very little. Studies have shown that Cannabis alleviates pain brought on by different medical conditions.
Doctors frequently prescribe it to help improve nausea, vomiting, and other discomfort brought on by such conditions as multiple sclerosis, seizures or chemotherapy. Patients looking to grow their own marijuana for medical use can even do so from the comfort of their home by choosing cannabis seeds with short harvest periods.
Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol has several beneficial properties, like providing stress relief and controlling anxiety. 28% of chronic pain sufferers claimed that they have used alcohol in the past.
There are some studies that show that moderate alcohol helps a little against the symptoms of fibromyalgia. But most researchers express that alcohol does more harm to chronic pain sufferers than good.
For example, alcohol disrupts circadian rhythm because you’re more likely to sleep when intoxicated, but abrupt sleepiness also tempers with the sleep cycle. It causes you to be restless which can have negative effects on your body.
There are also studies that show the role of alcohol in the onset of insomnia in a person. It affects the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) rhythm, causes sleep disorders and generally has a negative effect on sleep. Poor sleep quality can induce pain and worsen your condition.
Finally, scientists classify chronic pain as a disease, and alcoholism is known to cause several diseases; relying on alcohol to improve your pain might lead to alcoholism. Therefore it’s best to avoid alcohol.
Positive Thinking
The perceived attitude that we have about life in general, has a huge role in our body’s response to pain. The human brain is a powerful tool that can resolve or create issues simply by believing.
The placebo effect is an extremely popular concept, which is precisely what one needs to use to ‘trick’ the mind.
One way to do this is by positive thinking. Instead of being pessimistic and accepting hopelessness, you should focus on the good side.
Try motivating yourself and looking at the sunny side of things. Think about the small improvements such as; you feel less pain than yesterday or a week ago.
There are several studies that show that a happy attitude makes you healthy.
Get Support
Dealing with pain alone is extremely difficult. You feel lonely and desperate. Being alone can cause overthinking and stress. Humans are social species that require communication.
A good way to get help is to reach out to other people who have been in similar situations.They can provide you with comfort and good advice.
If your chronic pain is a long-term consequence of a car accident, you may try finding ways to receive legal compensation for your injury. This money would help offset the cost of your treatment and make you feel less cheated and alone.
Try to search the internet to find communities that help sufferers of chronic pain.
Also, remember to communicate your feelings with your family members and friends. They can always listen and help you.
