Living with chronic pain is not always easy, but with the right techniques, it can be manageable.
And while your age and lifestyle may play a role in why you experience everyday pains, there are certain remedies that can actually work for anyone.
If you’re looking to try a few new ways to manage everyday pain, we have you covered. These are five simple tips that may make a massive difference in your daily well-being.
1. Meditate
Meditation is a scientifically backed pain management technique.
If you know anything about meditation, you probably already know that it’s simply an exercise that allows you to focus on your breathing. It increases your awareness of your body and your breaths, helping distract from intruding thoughts and, you guessed it, any pain you may be experiencing.
Meditation can also work long-term wonders the more you practice it.
So while it can help you enjoy a pain-free mindset at the moment, it can also:
- Reduce your stress and anxiety
- Improve your length and quality of sleep
- Help you become more mindful
- Improve your level of focus
Not bad for deep breathing exercises, right?
To try meditation to manage your everyday pain, find a quiet spot and clear your mind. Take a few deep breaths and focus on the breaths entering and leaving your body.
If you find yourself distracted, simply return to thinking about your breathing. You will find that your attention is no longer on your pain, especially the more you meditate.
2. Stretch
Similar to meditation, stretching is a simple practice to relieve pain that you can do just about anywhere.
If you experience sore, achy joints, gently stretching the muscle surrounding the joints can provide tremendous relief.
Be sure that your doctor says stretching is safe to do for your specific condition, however! Stretching incorrectly, too strenuously, or in an area of the body that is too tender can lead to more harm than good.
If you have the okay, stretching is a smart way to relieve tension and make your body more flexible, mobile, and less pain-ridden.
3. Talk It Out
A lot of our daily aches and pains can be attributed to one main factor – stress. And though it can be challenging to avoid stress altogether, finding a way to deal with it will help you manage your pain, too.
And one of the best ways to deal with stress is to talk about it.
Call a friend or family member and chat about what is making you feel stressed. You may worry that you’re bothering them with your issues at first, but odds are, they will want to chat right back about their stressors!
Also, consider joining an online forum related to emotional wellness. It may surprise how great it feels to open up to others experiencing the same stress and everyday pain.
4. Try Medical Marijuana
Yes, a lot of people enjoy recreational marijuana to get high. But unlike more common recreational activities, namely smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol, marijuana can actually alleviate symptoms of everyday pain.
The THC content in marijuana reduces pain signals and pain perception in the body. Marijuana works inflammatory magic on the body.
And you can purchase it legally by working with a doctor in your state and acquiring a medical marijuana card.
5. Note Changes in Your Pain
Everyday pains may come and go, increase in intensity, or seemingly disappear without a trace. Writing down changes in your pain can be a crucial step in your recovery journey.
Hopefully, once your pain subsides, it does so for good. But if not, having kept a written record of what your pain felt like and what made it feel better or worse is a helpful document. Share this with your doctor so that they know exactly how to provide you with better care.
Conclusion
Experiencing everyday pains can be, well, a pain.
It is something most people go through at various stages of life.
But these five ways to manage everyday pain can bring you closer to lasting relief, no matter the source of the pain, your age, or your lifestyle.
Try one or two of these ideas today and you may feel a lot better sooner than you could ever imagine.
