Category: Self Help

Chronic Pain Mobility aids to help outdoors. Picture of woman walking using a rollator

Mobility Aids to Help You Enjoy Life Outdoors

Posted on By Despite Pain

Most people take walking for granted. They put one foot in front of the other – it’s as simple as that. But it’s not as simple as that for many people who live with disabilities, chronic pain or illness.

Due to my pain having an impact on my walking ability I often have to use various mobility aids. Initially, I did have a degree of reluctance in using them and I’m sure I’m not alone with that. I felt as though I was ‘giving in’ which was actually a stupid attitude to have because those mobility aids are there to help people like me. But it was hard having to accept that I needed that type of help.

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Facial Pain & Trigeminal Neuralgia Trigeminal neuralgia triggers. Picture of a female's face. Her long hair is blowing in the wind

Trigeminal Neuralgia Triggers Which Make Life Difficult

Posted on By Despite Pain

It’s no exaggeration to say that living with trigeminal neuralgia is difficult. Some people experience electric shock-like pain in the face. Other people, like myself, live with constant burning, aching, stabbing or throbbing facial pain. In both cases, there can be triggers which can cause or worsen the trigeminal neuralgia. Some of those triggers can be fairly obvious, but some are less so. Finding out what those triggers are can be helpful in managing the pain.

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Emotional & Mental Health How to cope when you feel overwhelmed. Picture of a purple flower against a green background

How to Cope if You Feel Overwhelmed by the News

Posted on By Despite Pain

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the news right now? Feeling down? Sad? Fed up? Scared? Angry? Every emotion you have is legitimate and it’s okay to admit how you’re feeling. In fact, it’s more than okay. It’s actually important because it’s better to talk than to hold emotions inside. I’m normally an optimist. I try to be positive. I get up in the morning and put a smile on my face even though I’m in pain and I wear that smile with pride for most of the day. But recently I’ve found it hard to smile all the time. And it’s got nothing to do with my pain. There have been times when I’ve felt very overwhelmed by the news.

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Chronic Pain Accepting a new normal when you miss your old life. Picture of lake in the countryside with mountains in the background

Accepting a New Normal When You Miss Your Old Life

Posted on By Despite Pain

When you live with a health problem, you often have to deal with many changes in life. These changes can be extremely difficult for people to come to terms with. Understandably, people often miss and mourn their old life. Accepting this new normal is far from easy, but often it’s the key to enjoying life again.

Everyone’s normal is different. And everyone’s normal can change from time to time whether through choice or necessity.

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Distractions cope with the lockdown and isolation during the coronavirus crisis. Black image showing a keyhole with white light shining through

How to Cope With the Lockdown and Isolation During the Coronavirus Crisis

Posted on By Despite Pain

2020 has become such a frightening and worrying year, hasn’t it? The news about the coronavirus is so overwhelming that I have to try to distract myself at times. I’m coping fine with the lockdown and the isolation which comes with it because, like many other people who live with chronic health conditions, I don’t go out much anyway.

However, I know a lot of healthier people are struggling to cope with the situation. Most of them are used to living busy, active lives, therefore spending time cooped up at home is probably a difficult adjustment for them.

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Chronic Pain review of ebook by Alice Garr about living and coping with chronic pain

Review of eBook About Living and Coping With Chronic Pain

Posted on By Despite Pain

As chronic pain patients, we normally have to do a lot of work ourselves to learn coping and pain management skills. There are often no magic answers. We might see a multitude of doctors, try a multitude of medications, but when it comes down to it, we need to try to do what we can ourselves to make life more bearable.

One of my blogging friends has recently written an eBook, “An A-Z of Chronic Pain”, about living and coping with chronic pain and she has very kindly gifted me with a copy so that I could write a review…

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Medical How to organise medication and keep it safe. Picture on a weekly pill container.

How to Organise Medication and Keep it Secure

Posted on By Despite Pain

Do you ever have problems trying to organise medication? Do you ever worry about forgetting to take them or perhaps taking them twice? Have you ever had your meds stolen? Do you worry in case little hands find your medication?

It can be difficult to organise and keep track of medication, can’t it? Who hasn’t said at some point, “Did I take my tablets this morning?” With no way of knowing, you have a dilemma. Do you take your med, with the risk of possibly doubling up, or do you risk going unmedicated?

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Back Pain & Scoliosis It's time to break up with you, chronic pain. Picture of silhouette of woman with broken chains on her wrists again a dark sunset.

Dear Chronic Pain – it’s Time to Break Up With You

Posted on By Despite Pain

It’s never easy to go your separate ways if you’ve been in a long-term relationship. When you think it’s time to break up, you can’t just send a text and say, “Hey, it’s over. Been nice knowing you.” Okay, maybe some people do, but that’s not right, is it?
I’m in a long term relationship with my pain and I think it’s time for us to break up. Breaking up is never easy, but breaking up with chronic pain is even harder because it just doesn’t take the hint no matter how blunt you are. You can swear, shout and scream at it and it just laughs in your face….

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Chronic Pain Be proud of all achievements. Picture of hands holding soil, with a small seedling growing in it.

Be Proud of all Achievements When You Live with Pain

Posted on By Despite Pain

When people live with chronic pain or illness, very often they have low self-esteem. They often see themselves as failures and get frustrated because they focus on what they cannot do. But when life is already so difficult, perhaps it would be more helpful to take the focus away from what they can’t do and instead be proud of their achievements.

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Life How to get 20/20 vision in 2020

How to get 20/20 Vision in 2020

Posted on By Despite Pain

2020!! Wow – is it because I’m getting old or has this past year just flown by? Whenever I say 2020, I think of perfect eyesight – good, clear, 20/20 vision with no blurriness or fuzzy edges. Natural 20/20 vision would be amazing, but wouldn’t it be even more amazing to have 20/20 vision in life? Wouldn’t it be great to have that kind of clarity in our lives?

When our eyesight is bad and we don’t have the clarity of 20/20 vision, we make a trip to the opticians to get new glasses or contacts. If only there was an easy way to get the same clarity in our lives. Read more….

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