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Blogging when you live with pain is more difficult than blogging without pain because pain can be distracting and affect your ability to create quality content. I started experiencing chronic pain a few years ago that never went away, and I am in pain constantly, even though you can’t always see it, but I am still able to blog. When you live with severe pain, sometimes people think that you sit in bed all day and can’t do anything, but that is not necessarily always true because everyone has different pain tolerances, and you can blog while living with severe pain. You just may have to make a few accommodations that someone without pain would not have to consider. Blogging is more difficult when you are in pain, but it is possible to write a blog post when you make the right accommodations for yourself. Blogging with a pain level of a zero will never be a reality for me, and if I waited until I had no pain, I would be waiting for a long time. How do I blog while living with pain? In this post, I am going to talk about how I accommodate my pain and blog as comfortably as I can without triggering more pain.
Dim the lights on your computer or wear sunglasses- Eight-five to ninety percent of people with migraine are light sensitive, which can make blogging very difficult. If I were experiencing a severe migraine attack and I could barely get out of bed to pee because the pain was too intense, I would not blog. I don’t have to take the day off every single time I have a migraine because sometimes you have to work and can’t afford to take the day off. Some migraineurs have to sit in a dark room when they have a migraine attack, but the myth that all migraineurs do that and no one can function is simply not true. Migraineurs have different pain tolerances, and some people can do things during an attack while others can’t. Sometimes I don’t blog when I have a migraine, but most times I am able to blog because I have built quite a pain tolerance. If you have a migraine or any other type of chronic pain that makes you light-sensitive, but you aren’t able to take the day off from work, an easy thing you can do to prevent your pain from getting worse is to dim the lights on your computer or wear sunglasses if that is an option. Lights sometimes make your brain hurt more during a migraine attack, and dimming the lights on your computer or wearing sunglasses makes it less bright, which can improve your pain levels or at the very least not make them worse.
Stay hydrated– It can take bloggers several hours to write a blog post, and it’s easy to get focused and become dehydrated because when you are in a good writing flow, the last thing you want to do is get up for breaks. Hydration is so important for preventing pain because if you aren’t adequately hydrated, it can cause migraine attacks, UTI’s and even make you more fatigued, which will affect your productivity. You don’t want to become dehydrated because it worsens pain, and when your pain levels are higher, it will be more difficult to blog. Stay hydrated because fueling your body properly is one of the best ways to prevent already bad pain from getting to a point where it is unbearable. Hydration is one of the most overlooked ways for preventing more pain, and a lot of the time, people don’t realize they are dehydrated until it’s too late. If you have a busy day and will be sitting at your desk for a while, keep a water bottle at your desk to remind you to stay hydrated.
Blog on low pain days- If you live with chronic pain, it is likely that you will never have the opportunity to blog with no pain because most people have constant chronic pain that never goes away. I live with chronic pain, and there is no way for me to blog with no pain because I am never not in pain, and if I waited until I had no pain, I might as well quit because I don’t even remember what no pain feels like. I may always be in pain, but blogging is still possible because when you live with chronic pain, you have good days when the pain is lower and bad days when it’s unbearable, and you should take the day off. If I am in unbearable pain, I will likely be lying in bed watching TV or trying to sleep, but if it’s a good day, I try to blog and be as productive as I can. I only blog on lower pain days because I can blog more comfortably when my pain is lower and the quality of my posts is not compromised. On bad days, I rest because forcing yourself to blog when you have unbearable pain when you don’t have to can make it worse, and blog posts are not as good.
Blog as comfortably as possible– If you want to blog as comfortably as possible with minimal pain, it’s so important that you are blogging in a comfortable environment. If I were going to blog, I would never sit outside in the summertime because it’s unbearably hot in Florida, which would trigger migraine attacks, and I would not be comfortable enough to create quality content. Blogging in a comfortable environment is so important because pain is already distracting, but it can be even more distracting if you are sitting in a chair that makes your back hurt and triggers more pain. When I blog, the most important thing to me is the chair I am sitting in and staying cool because when I am in air-conditioning and am sitting in a chair that supports my back, I have less pain. I don’t generally like to blog in bed because when I am too comfortable, it makes me lazy and less motivated, but if you can be productive and blog in bed, then go for it, and it’s just not my personal preference! Blogging in a comfortable environment helps you stay focused, and when you are not comfortable, blog posts tend to be rushed.
Find a schedule that works for you- Some people with pain can blog daily, but most people who live with severe chronic pain are not able to blog multiple times a day like people without pain can, and that is okay. Find a schedule that works for you, and if you can only blog once a month, that is okay because it’s better to blog less and have lower pain levels than to force yourself to blog more and compromise the quality of your posts. Self-care is always more important for people in pain than posting on social media.
Don’t forget to stretch- Stretching is not just for people who do high-intensity workouts, and most people can benefit from stretching because we all can use a little more flexibility. If you have a desk job and are sitting most of the day, it is so important that you don’t skip your stretching routine because when you are hunched over looking at your phone or computer screen, it causes your muscles to get tight, which triggers more pain. I try to remember to stretch every single day because when you walk with crutches, it doesn’t take much for your shoulders to get tight, which can trigger migraine attacks and affect my workout performance. If you exercise, it’s so important that you don’t skip your stretching routine because stretching increases the flexibility in your joints, which you need to improve your strength. Don’t forget to stretch because the only people who should be skipping their stretching routine are those with disabilities, such as Muscular Dystrophy, who do not benefit from it, but everyone else should be stretching every single day, even if you did not exercise.
Blogging is difficult when you live with pain, but it is possible when you listen to your body and know your limits. People in pain sometimes can’t blog as much, and it’s easy to start comparing yourself to others, but it’s so important we try not to because people without pain are not going to be able to put out as much content, and that is okay. If you live with pain, it is so important that you are realistic with how often you blog and don’t feel guilty if you have to take a week off because chronic pain is not your fault, and you are only hurting yourself when you do too much. At the moment, I am enjoying blogging almost every single day and putting on more content than I normally would since I have a new blog that doesn’t have a lot of content, but I might not be able to keep up at this pace forever. I have been blogging twice as much, but my pain levels have not changed, which is why I am able to blog as much as I do, and not everyone will be able to blog as much as I do. Everyone has different types of pain, and there is no specific schedule I think everyone should follow because no one knows your pain better than you do. How do you blog with pain? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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