Be Positive — Even When Suffering With Chronic Pain

When suffering with chronic back pain or neck pain (pain that lasts longer than six months), maintaining a positive attitude can be daunting. As the American Psychological Association explains: “Chronic pain is physically and psychologically stressful and its constant discomfort can lead to anger and frustration with yourself and your loved ones..”

However, studies show that the benefits you reap from a positive attitude make the effort of staying positive completely worthwhile.  Your mental and emotional well-being are as important as your physical state and have a direct link with each other.

Here are some tips on how to get that positive mindset and how to maintain it when the challenges of chronic pain arise:

• don’t blame yourself for the pain — it happened TO you, but that doesn’t mean that you made it happen
• look for lessons you have learned from suffering with pain: perhaps you are more patient with others; or you have learned to slow down and better appreciate life; perhaps you now know that you are stronger than you ever realized
• talk positively to yourself: remind yourself of progress you have made; focus on the fact that you are trying and not giving up; focus on what you CAN do instead of what you can’t do
• backslides are normal, expected and perfectly healthy — don’t be too hard on yourself if you have a bad-attitude day
• stay as active as possible — and be proud of yourself for every physical accomplishment, no matter how “small”
• reduce stress by eating well, exercising, and taking time for yourself to enjoy favorite activities
• distract yourself by engaging with others, learning new things, meeting new people, and helping others with their problems
• get support: don’t hesitate to ask loved ones for help, find support groups in your area or online, or talk to a professional

Making peace with your body can be particularly challenging when suffering with chronic pain. Fort Wayne Chiropractor, Dr. Richard Busch III, and the professional staff at Busch Chiropractic have been helping patients find relief from chronic pain for decades. Busch Chiropractic is renowned for the caring “whole patient” approach that Dr. Busch whole-heartedly promotes. We believe that you CAN live pain free and will work hard to get you there. And, until that day arrives, we are devoted to helping our patients manage their pain and live life to its fullest.

Don’t let chronic pain ruin relationships with your family and friends. Contact Busch Chiropractic in Fort Wayne, IN today at (260) 471-4090 to learn more about our nonsurgical treatment for chronic pain.