Pain changes a person, and you are not the same person you were before pain, because it affects every aspect of your life and changes the way you view the world. You spend so much time trying to figure out what triggers your pain because there is nothing worse than being stuck in bed because you pushed yourself too hard and did something you shouldn’t have done. Pain takes more from you than people realize, and sometimes you have to give up activities that you once loved because it causes you more pain. I have lived with pain for several years and have had to stop doing things that I once enjoyed because it flares my symptoms, and there are some things that you will never see me do because of pain. I can enjoy some activities that I could before the pain, because it doesn’t take everything from you, but there are more things I can’t do than things I can. I always have to think about how an activity is going to affect my pain before doing it because it doesn’t matter how fun something is it’s not worth if you are bed-bound the next week. What shouldn’t you do if you live with pain? In this post, I am sharing a few things that you will never see me do because of pain.
Drink alcohol– In 2019, I stopped drinking because it triggers migraine attacks and one drink could leave me bed-bound for a week. Since I stopped taking my seizure medication, which I believed was triggering daily migraine attacks, my migraine attacks stopped, and I no longer consider myself chronic because I only occasionally get them. I might be able to start drinking again and avoid a migraine, but you still will never see me drink a glass of wine, even on holidays. I also have endometriosis, and alcohol can sometimes trigger symptoms, and it’s something that I thought was best for my health to continue avoiding. You will never see me drink alcohol, even if people try to tempt me by saying, “One drink won’t kill you,” because although that may be true, the pain it could cause is just not worth it. You can still have just as much fun at parties as everyone else while remaining sober.
Force myself to do a high–impact workout– People sometimes think that if you live with pain you have to avoid exercise at all costs but that is only true for some people. Doctors often recommend people in pain incorporate exercise because it can help manage your symptoms but the type of exercise you do matters. My pain affects my entire workout and I can’t exercise without pain and the one thing you will never see me do if force myself to do a high-impact workout when my pain is flaring. I am able to do high-impact workouts but I don’t force myself to do them when standing is painful and sometimes I have to take unplanned rest days. You will never see me force myself to do a workout when I am not well because you run the risk of making your pain even worse and it’s just not worth it.
Deprive myself of sleep unnecessarily– People in pain often struggle with insomnia and don’t have great sleep schedules because the pain keeps you up and prevents you from getting good quality sleep. I have days when I will go to bed early and still only get five hours of sleep because you can be doing everything right and still not be able to fall asleep. You will never see me unnecessarily depriving myself of sleep because I have made the mistake of staying up too late, thinking I will sleep in, but my pain had other plans. Sleep is important for pain management, and if you don’t sleep enough it can trigger more pain.
Neglect healthy eating– Pain can affect your eating habits and sometimes it can cause depression so you don’t want to make healthy choices. It is hard to eat when my pain is flaring and depending on if I am nauseous or not sometimes I may skip meals or eat a lot less than I normally would. If I am struggling with pain, you will never see sit with a bag of chip and polish the whole thing off in one sitting and neglect health eating. I know my brain wants me to skip meals and eat all the chocolate but it’s not what my body needs and even when I struggling with pain I do try and practice healthy eating even if the only thing I can stomach is a smoothie.
Force myself to write a blog post– The great thing about blogging is that I am in charge of my own blog and write posts on my schedule because I don’t have to write posts if I am not well. You will never see me force myself to work when I am in agonizing pain because self-care is important for improving those pain levels, and the only time you may see me working when I am in agonizing pain is if I am working with a sponsor and have something that has a time limit. I am able to work with high pain levels, but if they are too high, I take the day off because it affects the quality of my content.
Blame myself for the pain– Pain is often inconvenient and my pain seems to always flare at the absolute worst times. Sometimes we do things that we know probably triggered increased pain levels but a lot of the time I don’t know what caused my pain to flare. I am not a happy person when I have increased pain levels because no one wants to have to spend all day in bed. You will never see me blaming myself for the pain because it’s not your fault and is not within our complete control to prevent. We do our best to prevent flares but sometimes pain increases for reasons we will understand. I have lived without pain most of my life and often wonder what caused me to all of sudden have constant pain that doesn’t go away but I don’t blame myself for it because it’s not good for your mental health.
Living with chronic pain is stressful because you can be doing everything right and still have increased pain. Some people may be able to alleviate their pain by eating healthier and exercising, while others may only see small improvements. You may not be able to cure your pain, but the habits you build matter because if you are consistently forcing yourself to do activities that trigger more pain, you will never see improvements. It is frustrating to have to give up activities you once loved, but sometimes it’s necessary because that CrossFit membership isn’t worth it if you are in bed for the next three days. It is okay to grieve the life you had before pain, because I think we all wish we could do things without pain. You can live well with chronic pain and sometimes you just have to do things a little bit differently. What things would you never do because of pain? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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