Chronic pain can be debilitating and is almost always a lifestyle changer. Although statistics vary slightly, approximately 20% of adults live with chronic pain. Some of us cope better than others and live a good quality of life.
Like 45% of the world’s population, I had pain connected to my jaw. I was born with a large overbite and had clicking, locking and constant headaches because of it. If I didn’t correct it, I wouldn’t be able to keep eating solid food.
When I was 18, I had an eight-hour jaw surgery to correct the overbite. This led to a domino effect of other health issues, such as repeated sinus infections due to complications from the surgery. I ended up on antibiotics for months at a time, which we know now leads to antibiotic resistance and has other negative effects on our health.
This domino effect led me to have other health issues that young people don’t get like shingles, gout and horrible insomnia. I was in my late teens and early 20s, in the prime of my life, and I had a calendar full of medical appointments, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a non-existent social life. I was at such a low point that if I got hit by a bus, I thought it would put me out of my misery.
While my jaw surgery gave me many years without jaw pain, it wasn’t a perfect solution. In 2014 I discovered that my jaw looked like I was in my 70’s. I was in my mid-thirties. I had bone spurs, bone breakdown, and daily headaches. I’ve since been working with a medical team to help decrease my pain and preserve the integrity of my jaw. This doesn’t even touch on the countless injuries I’ve struggled with due to hypermobility. It’s been a rocky road and pain seems to be a constant companion in my life.
I don’t want others to go through the same struggles that I did. I had over a decade of ill health that could have been prevented and want you to know that you aren’t alone. I’ve learned a lot through my own health struggles, and through my degrees in Kinesiology and Nursing that may be able to help you.
My biggest takeaway is that you are not broken.
I’ve spent many years feeling sorry for myself. Being limited on what I could do because of my pain. Avoiding activities that brought me pleasure because I didn’t want to get injured. Telling my pain story to anyone that would listen.
As a chronic pain sufferer and health and wellness expert, I sit in a unique position. I know what it’s like to have pain. I also know what needs to be done to improve it. While I haven’t been able to eliminate my pain completely, I’ve made many changes that have decreased my pain significantly. I did extensive research on what changes I needed to improve around sleep, diet, exercise, and mental health. They literally transformed my world, something I never thought possible.
These lifestyle factors can decrease your perception of pain, improve your coping strategies, and offer you a new perspective on your pain. It’s most important to focus on improving your quality of life, rather than fixating on removing the pain. It isn’t always possible to be pain-free. It is always possible to change our perception of that pain.
The number one cause of disability in the USA is chronic pain. What is most disheartening about this statistic is that so many of us struggle with pain, yet so little is done to help us. As chronic pain sufferers, we often get labeled as drug seekers, lazy, or malingering. That’s seldom the true story.
I learned that while doctors thought I wanted drugs, I wanted strategies that worked. While people thought I was lazy, I was burned out from doing everything I could to get better. And while some thought I was malingering, they couldn’t physically see the pain I deal with.
What I also learned is that many medical professionals often don’t have the time, resources, or information to truly help us with our pain. They aren’t intentionally trying to brush us aside. The medical system was never designed to deal with this many people who struggle with pain.
Our health care system is on the verge of collapse. Now with COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to shift the way we do health care. Chronic pain can lead to disabilities, unemployment, and costs billions of health care dollars to manage. Individually have the power to reduce this burden. We have the power to help ourselves.
I learned that by improving my sleep, my perception of the pain was far less. When I had less pain, I was able to sleep better. It took a long time to get off of sleeping pills and to repattern a healthy sleep routine. All the effort was worth it. Getting enough sleep helps to improve blood sugar. This made it easier for me to lose the weight I gained during my darkest years.
As I started sleeping better, I had more control of my food cravings. I was more interested in eating healthier options. My taste buds changed. I wasn’t reliant on processed carbs to fuel me for the day. As my diet improved, the inflammation in my body decreased. The aches and pains melted away.
I shifted my focus from what I couldn’t do, to what I could. I knew that exercise was important, but it always hurt so I stopped. I shifted to doing exercises that caused minimal pain. I focused on areas of my body that weren’t injured. I stretched, rolled, and massaged the tight areas of my body. As I built up strength, my troubled spots became more mobile and I hurt less.
Perhaps most importantly, I changed my mindset. I do have chronic pain. I probably always will. But it no longer rules my life. I choose to be happy, even when I have pain. I choose to make healthy lifestyle choices because I know it will help manage my pain. While at one time I did feel deprived for making healthy lifestyle choices, I feel so much better because of those choices.
Through all my struggles with pain, I’ve learned that I’m a lot tougher than I ever realized. I have developed many coping strategies to help me get through tough times. Having chronic pain has also been an incredible blessing. It helps me relate to my clients. It offers me compassion and empathy because I truly know what it’s like to struggle with pain and chronic health conditions.
If you feel stuck in a chronic pain spiral, you are not alone. Focus on the things that you can change. Focus on progress, not perfection. While pain may always be there, pain shouldn’t rule your life.
You are not broken.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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