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Living with chronic pain is one of the fiercest mental battles any of us can face. Pain gets in your head. Feelings of frustration, defeat, and fear that your suffering will be permanent can make it hard to get through the day. While your care team is focusing on treating or mitigating the source of the pain, you may not be getting the mental or emotional support you need. Whether you’re navigating this alone or working with a pain clinic for specialized support, managing the psychological toll is just as important as addressing the physical symptoms. Here are three tips for managing the mind aspect of chronic pain.
1. Focus on Constructive Self-Talk
When living with chronic pain, it’s very easy to play the same negative tapes over and over again in your mind. These can be voices of self-blame, shame, or defeat. Whether you’re repeatedly blaming yourself for your condition or telling yourself that it will never get better, negative self-talk can sabotage your progress. For example, we know that psychological stress can impede wound healing.
Speak to yourself with constructive words. That doesn’t mean denying the reality of your struggles. However, it is essential to look at the big picture. For example, you can celebrate the minor improvements that you make. You can also acknowledge what you can achieve daily while working toward total healing and recovery. Positive self-talk is associated with lower levels of distress and pain, greater resistance to illnesses, better psychological and physical well-being, and better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.
2. Seek Support
Living with chronic pain can be an isolating experience. There’s a strong temptation to draw inward. Meanwhile, research shows that getting out of social isolation is linked with significant improvements in self-reported emotional and physical functioning among people with chronic pain.
If possible, find family and peer support. There are several support groups for chronic pain sufferers online. Having your experiences validated by people who share them can sometimes be more beneficial than confiding in friends or family members who may not have personal experiences with pain. However, it’s also important to stay connected to the people in your life in order to maintain a sense of normalcy.
3. Focus on What You Can Control
There’s so much that a person living with chronic pain can’t control about their life. However, the reality is that you have more power than you realize. For example, you can maintain complete control over your eating choices.
By committing to a healthy and balanced diet, you assert control over how your body feels and performs daily. For example, studies show that adopting an anti-inflammatory diet is associated with improvements in pain and stress in patients with chronic pain caused by rheumatic diseases. Decreasing pro-inflammatory has also been linked with improved sleep satisfaction. Some common anti-inflammatory foods to fit into your diet include:
- Tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Spinach, kale, and other leafy greens
- Almonds and walnuts
- Salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, and other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Bell peppers
- Olive oil and other foods rich in polyphenols
- Chicory, asparagus, bananas, and other foods rich in prebiotics that promote gut health
Refined carbohydrates, fried foods, margarine and shortening, sodas and sweetened beverages, commercial baked goods, candies, jellies, processed meats, and some coffee creamers are inflammation-triggering foods to avoid. Staying hydrated can also help fight inflammation. Adequate hydration helps flush out toxins and prevent painful muscle cramping.
Pain Doesn’t Have to Control Your Mind
What have we learned? Retrain your mind with positive self-talk, seek support to escape the mental load of feeling like you’re alone, and focus on what you can control when it comes to how your body feels. Of course, nobody is meant to walk the journey of chronic pain alone. Ensure you’re working with a pain clinic that understands the complexity of chronic pain.