#304 Plan for joy

I believe that joy helps healing and reduces pain. Planning my life to include things that give me joy is an important part of my healing lifestyle!

Last night I had the awesome opportunity to share an evening with old friends I haven't seen in a while, and revel in great discussions, laughter and wonderful food (especially the creative "build your own dessert" buffet seen above)

A few days ago I was caught up in stress and pain and actually considered canceling my weekend plans to stay at home and "rest up"... This may be a difficult balance, sometimes I really need rest, sometimes I just need more joy and different input. It can be a gamble to make the decision, but over time I've seen that actively choosing for joy has always been more beneficial for me than making room for the pain.


What things give you joy, what things make you laugh... and where in your schedule are you making room for them?

#303 Breaking the stress connection

In my experience pain and stress are a really bad cycle, and I could understand this a lot better after learning more about what stress actually is.

Experiencing physical pain sets off a stress response, and that means among other things: shallow breathing, heated thinking, worse digestion, higher blood pressure and worse circulation. And unfortunately several of these things directly intensify my physical pain, the worse circulation especially.

So stress and chronic pain turn into a negative cycle, they both feed each other.

How can we break this cycle?

Thankfully, there's one simple tool that is really close at hand: Our breathing!

#302 Check your stress level

from Hyperbole and a half

But what if the threat is coming not from a wild bear, but from a full email inbox, a bunch of papers you have to sort through, an over-packed calendar ... or a painful back?

You can't run away from those, and you can't really fight them either, so your stress level just builds and builds...

Whatever the reason for the stress, the physical reaction is more or less the same. All these hormones are loose in your system, they are meant to be burnt off with physical exercise (like running away from the bear), and then followed by hormones that provide relief and relaxation.  But if you don't have the physical exercise of running away, but are stuck in front of your computer with stress from deadlines, you don't get that relaxation unless you actively seek stress relief.

So, on a scale from 0-10 where 0 is no stress at all, 5 is slightly frantic and 10 is an ADHD duracell bunny on amphetamine... how is your stress level during a normal day?

What's it like in the morning, midday, afternoon and evening? What is particularly stressful to you?

#301 Learn about stress

What with the book launch, planning the new blog and buying an apartment all at the same time, it's no wonder my stress levels have been a bit through the roof lately. And that reminds me of the stress and pain connection, a topic I've been looking forward to discussing in this blog.

It was a big eye opener when I was told a little more about the over-used term "stress". People talk about "positive stress" and "negative stress", and everyone is just sooo stressed all the time... but... what is it, actually?

I talked to a doctor who explained to me that stress is actually just a chemical reaction in the body, a survival mechanism linked to the fight or flight response. When the brain interprets that the body is under attack or in danger (for example if you meet a wild bear in the forest) the endocrine system is activated and produces adrenalin, nor-adrenalin and cortisol.

These hormones have various wonderful effects, including making your heart beat faster and your blood flow thicker (in case the bear bites you, so you don't bleed to death). Blood is diverted from your stomach to your muscles so you can fight the bear or run really fast, the brain's cooling system is lowered so your brain heats up and you can think clearer - that way you're able to analyze the situation and come with a good response. All non-urgent functions, like reproduction and digestion, are put on hold so you can deal with the problem at hand: fighting the bear.

My question is: How does this affect chronic pain?

#300 Claim your expertise

Don't be fooled by fancy words and good advertising. You are the expert on your own health!

A 15 minute consultation can't ever begin to cover the complexity of how your body functions, but you've lived in this body all your life, quite a few years longer than any medical education!! Doctors and all other health professionals have specific knowledge that may help you in your healing journey, but you are the one who knows best just how your body works.

So don't be shy. The next time some professional tries to tell you how things should be - based on some theory or other (they are constantly changing by the way) - and it doesn't match your experience: Claim your expertise!

If you're feeling creative: Print your own Phd certificate and post it on our wall to remind yourself.