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…
Category: Chronic Pain
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.
Chronic Pain
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Chronic Pain – How Can We Overcome the Burden of Guilt?
We struggle with pain. We struggle with the stress of living with pain. And sometimes, we struggle with all-consuming guilt, which can ultimately affect both our mental and physical health.
Sometimes our guilt makes us believe we are a burden to our families. And very often there is only one person who is pointing the finger and making us feel guilty – ourselves.
Chronic Pain
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I Am Not My Pain
It can often feel as though it comes along like a thief in the night and takes away part of ourselves. It creeps into the deepest crevices of our beings, then wears us down until there is virtually nothing left. It destroys who we are.
But it is important to remember that there’s more to us than pain.
Chronic Pain
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Small Things are Actually Big Things when you Live with Chronic Pain
I mentioned in a previous post that I enjoy life despite pain. But perhaps that gives people the impression that I run marathons, paint the town red and shop till I drop every weekend. But it’s not like that. I do enjoy life, but I enjoy the small things in life. I believe that the small things in life are actually big things, especially when you live with chronic pain.
Back Pain & Scoliosis
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Learning to Listen to Your Body When You’re in Pain
Learning to listen to your body when you’re in pain is easier said than done. I have lived with pain for most of my life. Chronic severe pain which has been both disabling and debilitating. There have been spells when it’s been extremely difficult to cope with it.
For many years, I tried to fight against my pain which did nothing but make it worse. Eventually, I learned to listen to my body. It didn’t stop the pain, but I was able to cope with it better.