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Chronic pain affects everything you do because when you live with pain, you don’t have as much energy to complete basic tasks as someone without pain does. People with chronic pain have days when we are not in as much pain. Most people are in pain constantly, and you can’t wait until your pain is a zero to start being productive because that will never happen. I live with chronic pain, and most days I think I am pretty good at hiding it from loved ones because a lot of people can’t even tell that I am in pain unless I happen to mention it. I am always in pain, but the severity varies from day to day, and there are some days when I barely notice it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there, and it only means that some people aren’t very good at recognizing it. Pain changes you and there are some things I do because of pain that may look like laziness but in reality it’s only me accommodating my pain levels. You have to constantly be thinking about how different tasks affect your pain levels and make accommodations as needed to avoid more pain. What things did you not realize I did because of pain? In this post, I am going to share a few things that you didn’t know I did because of chronic pain.
Wear sunglasses indoors- Some people with migraine disease are not sensitive to light, but about eighty to ninety percent of migraineurs have reported light sensitivity. When I get a migraine, lights are very painful because I am light-sensitive and sometimes you may see me wearing sunglasses indoors, or I may shut off all the lights in the morning while drinking my coffee. Light can be painful when you live with migraine, and it can make the pain that I might have been able to get rid of even worse. Luckily, I haven’t had a migraine attack in a while and have been able to handle a little more lighting than I would be able to if my migraine pain were flaring, but sometimes you may see me wearing sunglasses while making lunch. If I am able to, I will turn off all the lights when I have a migraine, but I don’t live alone and can’t always do that, which is why sunglasses are a migraineur’s best friend. You can’t always turn off the lights, but you can wear sunglasses and dim the lights on your computer for less pain. It can be tricky to tell if I am in pain by how many lights I am turning off, because sometimes I am not in pain and just want to sit in darkness.
Sometimes I may skip a couple of workouts– Exercise can help improve pain but it’s usually only recommended as a way to prevent pain, and it is not something you do when you are in a flare because it can make it worse. I struggle to be consistent with my workouts because I live with migraine disease and have endometriosis which can affect the frequency of my workouts. I wish I could be consistent with my workout routine but if I am on my period and I can barely get out of bed or have a migraine attack it’s not happening because you need to prioritize rest to get better. Most of the time when I skip a workout it’s not because I was lazy, and I didn’t want to, and I had no choice. I do not build muscle as quickly as someone without pain because sometimes I can’t be as consistent with my workouts and will go two or three weeks and barely do any exercise. There is not a lot I can do to change that because you can’t control everything about your pain. When you live with pain, you can’t always force yourself to exercise because sometimes your body needs rest more than it needs physical activity. If I skip a lot of workouts, it could be because I am lazy and didn’t want to but it’s likely due to pain. You should never shame someone who lives with pain for doing less exercise because sometimes our bodies don’t allow us to move more.
I may take more naps- Insomnia is common for people who live with pain because sometimes severe pain prevents you from getting good quality sleep. Medication can help you sleep, but it’s not a cure, and there are days when you have severe pain, and your medication is not doing much for you. Some days I have great sleep and sleep eight hours, but most days I wake up multiple times during the night and sleep maybe four hours. When you live with pain, sometimes you need to take longer, more frequent naps to catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the night because pain often prevents you from sleeping. My medication is not supposed to make me fatigued throughout the day, but it often does, and I have no choice but to sleep it off because pushing through fatigue only causes more pain. Naps are beneficial for everyone but when you live with chronic pain, often it’s necessary. If you see me taking more frequent naps or waking up earlier than usual, it is likely not because I pulled an all-nighter (although that could be true), but pain is preventing me from sleeping.
Sometimes I am quieter than usual– When you’re struggling with pain, interacting with your friends can be difficult because it takes a lot of energy. I am an introverted person and am not going to be the person who starts conversations, but I can be social when I want to be. If I am quieter than usual, it might not be because I am antisocial, and it could be that I am struggling with pain and don’t have the energy to have a conversation.
When you have chronic pain, you can live a normal life, but sometimes it causes you to do things at a slower pace and make accommodations that someone without pain wouldn’t have to consider. Most people in pain have invisible pain, and you won’t know someone is struggling by looking at them, but even though someone doesn’t look like they are in pain, that doesn’t mean they are not. People in pain often move at a slower pace than they normally would, skip workouts, and sometimes don’t eat as consistently as they normally would because you don’t have the energy to get up and do basic tasks. If you notice someone is moving more slowly, it doesn’t always mean they are in pain, but it most certainly can be a sign of pain. It can never hurt to offer assistance because the worst that can happen is they tell you they don’t need help. What thing have you done because of pain that you wish people knew? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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