Most people understand pain. Whether it’s from an occasional headache, a broken leg, or a stubbed toe, most people understand what pain feels like. But chronic pain? Not everyone will understand what that is like. When Does Pain Become Chronic? Chronic pain is defined by NHS Inform as pain that…
Category: Chronic Pain
Awareness
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What is Life Like with Chronic Pain?
If you read my distractions post, you’ll know I’m keen on A – Zs, so I decided to make an A – Z to describe what life is like with chronic pain. Counteracting Negatives with Positives Partway through writing this, I realised that the A – Z was quite negative…
Blogging & Writing
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Writing About Your Pain Or Illness Can Be Helpful
I first started writing after retiring from work due to my health, when I was 28. For me, it was an enjoyable distraction. My mind was always thinking about my pain but when I was writing, it changed. I wrote poems and stories which took me to another world. There…
Chronic Pain
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Chronic Pain is Unpredictable, Just Like Scottish Weather
Throughout Scotland, the weather can be fairly unpredictable and often I describe living with chronic pain in the same way. Unpredictable Scottish Weather Spring is upon us. At least, it should be. I live in the hills of the Scottish Borders and because we sit quite high (1150 feet above…
Back Pain & Scoliosis
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Ill Health Retirement After Years of Struggling to Work
Very often, people with ill health or disability struggle to work and have to face early retirement. It’s not a decision that anyone takes lightly. I Had to Take Ill Health Retirement When I was 28 I had to take early retirement through ill health in 1994 when I was…
Chronic Pain
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Feeling Like A Failure Was One of My Failings
If someone has fulfilled their hopes and dreams, is well off, has a fancy car and a five-bedroomed house in a nice area, they’re considered successful. Qualifications, careers, acquired wealth, sporting victories and acting awards all seem to measure a person’s success. But when people live with chronic pain or…
Chronic Pain
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20 Ways to Try to Distract Yourself From Pain
Everyone needs to be distracted from time to time, whether from illness, what’s going on around them or simply from life itself. Distractions don’t take the problems away, but they might take your mind off whatever is bothering you. When you’re living with pain, learning to distract yourself from it…
Chronic Pain
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Silent Symptoms of Chronic Illness – Loneliness and Isolation
Living with chronic illness of any kind is difficult. Obviously, the physical symptoms are difficult to cope with. There are often lots of emotional symptoms to deal with too, like depression, grief, guilt, stress and anxiety. But there are two other symptoms of chronic illness which are often overlooked –…
Chronic Pain
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How to Cope with Medication Side Effects
For many people living with chronic health conditions, medication isn’t optional — it’s essential…but, unfortunately, it often brings a few unwelcome side effects along with the benefits. Some settle once your body adjusts, while others like to linger. We can learn to live with them to an extent, but some…
Chronic Pain
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Does Pain Steal Enjoyment from Your Life?
Does pain steal all enjoyment from your life? We shouldn’t let it. The Good Pain Theory explains how I cope with pain after doing something I enjoy.