Chronic Pain Self Management Strategies
While there are many different types of chronic pain, there are also many different strategies for coping with chronic pain. Just as chronic pain isn’t “one size fits all” neither are the coping strategies. What works for one person may not work for another, and it may take a little trial and error to find out which ideas work the best for you. For this article, we went to the experts. Not just medical experts, but those who suffer with chronic pain, from arthritis to fibromyalgia, and more, and we asked them for their best, most helpful coping strategies. Because who knows better how to cope with pain than those who live with it?
What is Chronic Pain?
There are two different types of pain; acute and chronic. While acute pain typically comes on suddenly, is sharp, lasts for a set amount of time (typically no more than six months) and generally responds to treatment, chronic pain is much different.
Chronic pain is identified as any pain that lasts beyond the typical time it takes to heal from an injury or illness, or any pain that persists beyond weeks, to months or years. It is typically self-diagnosable and traditional treatments vary depending on type of pain, and severity. It can be challenging to treat, because of it’s very nature. Chronic pain sufferers can have good days and bad days, and in a lot of cases, the bad days start out less frequent, but gradually increase to the point where they outnumber the good days.
Chronic Pain and Mental Health
Along with physical pain, chronic pain can have an impact on your mental health too. The connection between chronic pain and depression is a complex one, and sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether chronic pain has led to depression, or depression has led to chronic pain. According to some sources, not only are chronic pain sufferers three times as likely to develop symptoms of depression, but those with depression are also three times as likely to develop chronic pain symptoms. Depression can frequently cause unexplained pain like headaches and back pain, plus ongoing depression can hinder efforts toward maintaining physical health, such as exercising, eating healthy, and getting adequate sleep.
Connecting the dots from chronic pain back to depression may seem obvious because living a majority of days in pain can certainly lead to depression, but even pain free days can be marred, by depression and anxiety symptoms, because while you’re currently enjoying a lack of pain at the moment, the knowledge that it can return, at any given moment, can cause your body and mind to be on constant alert for pain symptoms, and that in and of itself can lead to depression, and anxiety.
Considering the factors that lead to both mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, and physical pain, can turn into a circular pattern. It’s easy to understand why there may be difficulty in breaking the cycle of mental health and chronic pain.
Breaking the Cycle
Because stress, such as from anxiety and pain, triggers an adrenaline response in your body, your body responds with cortisol. Cortisol increases glucose (which helps with the “flight or fight” response to the stressors) and helps curb nonessential or detrimental functions to clear the way for the flight or fight response, such as immune system responses, and the digestive system function. In the short term, once the threat passes, the body’s hormone levels return to normal, as does bodily function. However, when the stress is constant, the flight or fight reaction remains turned on, and your body becomes overexposed to cortisol. This can disrupt all your bodily processes, and you become at risk for many health problems that can encompass both physical and mental health symptoms.
One of the best ways to overcome the disruption caused by chronically high cortisol levels, is by raising your body’s natural “happy chemicals. Those are the compounds created naturally, by your body, to increase your general sense of well being, and they are Endorphins, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Dopamine.
Endorphins are some of the so-called “feel good” hormones that your body creates that help relieve pain, reduce stress, and give you a sense of well-being. Serotonin is known as nature’s anti depressant. Oxytocin can be considered the brain’s “cuddle drug”. And Dopamine not only helps us stay motivated, but is also associated with pleasurable sensations.
Boosting the Levels
There is a variety of ways to raise the body’s levels of these feel good compounds, starting with going outside. Safe, moderate exposure to sunlight can increase the body’s production of serotonin and endorphins.
Another good way to raise endorphin levels is exercise. If you’ve ever heard of a “runner’s high” that’s the endorphin rush that exercise can bring. Regular physical activity, along with raising endorphin levels, can also increase dopamine and serotonin levels.
Yet another way is with massage. So if you need another reason to book with your favorite massage therapist, here it is. Research has shown that getting a massage can boost all four of the body’s feel good chemicals.
There are several other enjoyable activities that help raise endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine. They include meditation, laughter, and spending time with your favorite pets.
Advice from the Experts
Chronic pain experts include medical professionals like MDs, Chiropractors and even psychiatrists and psychologists, and while some of their advice centers on better living through pharmaceuticals, of course, they also recommend some self-care strategies that can make living with a variety of pain conditions easier. Among the expert suggestions are:
Education.
Find out everything you can about your particular condition. Ask questions, read up. The more you know, the better you are able to cope with what your pain throws at you. Know what to expect, and what is “normal” for your condition.
Balance.
Try to find a balance between doing what you need to do, and resting when you need to rest. No two days are the same with chronic pain, and knowing when you can forge ahead with plans, and when it’s time to just focus on taking care of you is key in coping.
Acceptance.
One of the biggest keys to living with chronic pain is accepting that this is your reality now. Experts (and our respondents below) say that it may be difficult to accept that chronic pain is destined to be a part of your life now, but once you reach that point, it begins to get much easier to cope. It’s also a good idea to help those around you to accept your condition as a reality from here on out, so they can help you when you need it, and offer understanding when you’ve reached your limits and need to retreat from your normal schedule for a bit.
Ideas From the Trenches
While expert advice is necessary and useful, sometimes the best help comes from those who are going through the same thing you are, and have found their own strategies for coping with chronic pain.
For the tried and true coping strategies, we reached out to real people, facing real diagnoses, and they had LOTS of answers.
Several people echoed the above suggestions of getting out in nature, moderate exercise, massage, and meditation, of course.
Along with those ideas, suggestions included:
Chiropractic care
Using a heating pad and/or TENS unit
Acupuncture
Yoga and gentle stretching
Reiki
Aromatherapy
Stress reduction
Hydration
Swimming
Keeping warm (especially in the spring and fall when temperatures tend to vary)
Epsom salt baths
And more...
Another suggestion that there was a lot of discussion about was following an anti-inflammatory diet. One that was brought up more than once was the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes foods such as fish, vegetables, and olive oil, and is supported by the Arthritis Foundation (Arthritis.org).
A lot of the suggestions seemed to focus on the idea of acceptance of yourself, and your limitations. One participant L.W. of Southwest Michigan stated it this way: “I’m not willing to give up my life because of pain. When I tried to ignore it and pretend it didn’t exist I also missed out on all the good things in my life. In order to experience the joyful, positive things I have to be present, which means 100% present, even for the sucky stuff.”
She finished with this powerful statement “To put it better, I view it as an obstacle, not a barrier. Before I changed the way I think about it, I was a victim to it. I took back my power.”
Along with her sage advice, borne of years living with a chronic pain condition, L.W said some of the best strategies she uses are staying grounded in the moment, and self hypnosis.
The theme of self-acceptance was echoed by several participants, with an emphasis on loving kindness toward self, and understanding your own limitations. When you just can’t do anymore, it’s time to rest and let yourself heal. One of the participants stressed the necessity of sometimes being “antisocial”, turning down invitations, and just taking the time to be alone and honor your own needs.
Wrapping it up…
As stated, there are many different types of chronic pain, and these are some of the ideas we’ve found for dealing with it. Each person needs to find what works best for them, and we hope this has given you some great ideas where to begin. If you have any ideas we haven’t thought of, please feel free to leave them in the comments, so that others may get some relief through them too.
Click here to learn more about therapy for chronic pain.
