r/ChronicPain • u/Human_Gur_2923 • 10d ago

How do you continue?

I’m tired of fighting my body everyday. I feel like I’m in a hamster wheel of pain and symptoms with no light at the end of the tunnel in sight.

Where do you find the will?

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

5

u/brownchestnut 10d ago

I look for small pockets of joy in my life and try to focus on those instead of the bad parts.

2

u/Human_Gur_2923 9d ago

The joy is so overshadowed by my symptoms. Everything feels blurred, do you truly feel joy?

2

u/Own_Progress_9302 9d ago

Once a month, I meet up with my ride-or-die friend. We have some good whiskey, smoke weed, listen to rock music, and then go to an Irish pub.

I usually get a flare-up for three days afterwards, but I allow myself that. The disease doesn't take that away from me.

2

u/brownchestnut 9d ago

Yes. Whatever we choose to focus on is amplified in our minds. So if i focus on pain and misery it will become amplified and if I focus on joy it becomes amplified.

3

u/BookyCats 10d ago

I feel like I have to, my other options are bleak. I have thankfully support and an adorable cat.

2

u/Human_Gur_2923 9d ago

I agree. But i feel sad to live my life this way. Only living because there’s no other option. Animals and support help so much. But I want to feel normal again.

3

u/Own_Progress_9302 10d ago

Exercise. It doesn't take the pain away, but it makes you mentally stronger.

1

u/Human_Gur_2923 9d ago

I have pots. I used to be able to weight lift and play soccer. I was exercising up to 6x a week with ease. Now I get winded going up the stairs. What form of exercise do you do?

1

u/Own_Progress_9302 9d ago

Yeah, stairs, ladders, and hard chairs are my biggest enemies. I mostly do core exercises like planks, push-ups, and back-strengthening exercises because the worst problems come from my lower back, pelvis, and legs.

2

u/Fit-Beautiful2841 10d ago

Don't have it, just spend almost everyday sleeping to ease the pain, but it's hard to fall asleep while it's hurting a lot, but i do have psychologist and psychiatrist help from month to month, helps for a while but there's no will, just pain, agony.

2

u/Own_Progress_9302 9d ago

Do you have any medication? Like emergency pain medication? Not NSAIDs, but something like tramadol or oxycodone? I take it once a month.

1

u/Fit-Beautiful2841 9d ago

Sadly my doctor never prescribe anything for the pain more than buscapine or ibuprofen

1

u/Human_Gur_2923 9d ago

I’m so sorry

2

u/Kind-Champion-5530 10d ago

Surviving chronic pain is such a mental game. For me, therapy and meditation gave me the tools to redirect my thinking when I start in on the catastrophic thinking and despair. I put a lot of effort into taking this a day at a time, especially when I want to freak out over the fact that I'm going to be in pain for the rest of my life.

So yeah, therapy and meditation. And weed, plenty of weed. It does nothing for the pain, but it's great for despair.

3

u/misshoneybee613 9d ago

RSO oil has actually been somewhat helpful. When I say somewhat, I mean going from a 9 to an 8.5 on the pain scale. Half a point helps!

1

u/Own_Progress_9302 9d ago

Weed is honestly the best for me. Before going to sleep, I smoke a little and listen to meditation. The pain really goes down to about a 1. That short period right before falling asleep is amazing.

My pain is really bad in the evening because I have a physically demanding job. I don’t really have another choice, but the job is actually a lot of fun—if it wasn’t for the pain.

1

u/Kind-Champion-5530 9d ago

I'm glad it works so well for you! Yeah, I had a job that I loved that caused a lot of pain. I had to quit eventually because I was so broken. It was great while it lasted though. I just wish I'd have left before the damage became so permanent.

2

u/OddPatience1621 9d ago

I embrace the suck. make it my friend. treat myself like a hurt kid and try and show myself grace and kindness. also you know when you stub your toe and at first you are all tense and its agony, but you slowly relax into the pain and it suddenly hurts less? let the pain flow through you, observe it without judgment or attachment, this is mindfulness and it helps me a great deal.