5 Ways of Coping With Pain

September 5, 2020October 15, 2020 Simon Hopes

Chronic pain can throw a dark cloud even over life’s high points.

An estimated 20.4% of people live with some kind of chronic pain. For those people, it can feel inescapable. Yet there are ways to manage pain that could make life easier to deal with.

Here are 5 ways of coping with pain.

1. Find Unlikely Relief

While medicine can go a long way to relieving chronic pain, there are also scientifically-backed supplementary actions you can take to manage your level of pain.

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that our brains experience less pain when we’re otherwise distracted, for example. Even listening to music can help dull chronic pain.

Devices like foot baths or tens units can help to relieve certain kinds of chronic pain. You can read more about tens unit benefits for chronic pain here. Other helpful tricks include meditation and breathing exercises.

2. Reduce Other Stressors

We’ve already touched on the link between pain and the mind, but you can also take this idea further.

Research shows that stress increases our perception of negative sensations, along with the other ways it can take a toll on our bodies.

While often easier said than done, try to remove everyday sources of stress from your life. It may also help to develop a more resilient mindset, such as by letting go of things you can’t change.

3. Give Yourself a Day Off

The reality of chronic pain is that there will be bad days. While not always practical, it can help to simply accept a bad day for what it is.

On days like those, you’re entitled to remain comfortable and do whatever personally makes you happy. This shouldn’t become a habit, but it can be enough to replenish your finite coping resources.

Accepting that bad days happen can help to relieve some of the frustration that often accompanies chronic pain, which can, in turn, help to control your pain levels.

4. Experiment with Treatments

You should always follow your physician’s advice when it comes to treatment for your pain. However, many physicians are happy to work with you to establish a system of pain management that works for you.

This could mean trying different medications and dosages to establish the right balance between pain relief, side effects, and general quality of life. It could be that you haven’t yet discovered the best way for managing your particular pain—biochemistry is complex, and far from a one-size-fits-all field.

Among pain treatments, using CBO oil is a well-known method. Go to this link for more details https://www.healthcanal.com/best-cbd-oil

5. Stay Healthy

While you may not be able to resolve the source of your chronic pain, looking after your overall health can help to manage it.

Our bodies operate at a holistic level—whatever happens to one part can and will affect others. A sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and bad habits like smoking can all make chronic pain worse, through direct or indirect means.

This is key for particular kinds of people, such as those coping with arthritis pain.