"I Would Choose Pain"

THIS is what it's like to live with a chronic illness.

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:23:43 -0400

THIS is what it's like to live with a chronic illness. :

endometriosis:

This is amazing!! Love it!

Mayo’s Pain Rehab program does something very similar to this, but with bottles of water.

Photo

Tue, 15 May 2012 01:44:00 -0400

For those with chronic pain conditions..

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:02:07 -0500

For those with chronic pain conditions..:

lifewithautoimmune:

a—movie—script—ending:

I was recommended this website a while ago, perhaps worth a try :)

Photo

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:03:02 -0500

fuckyeahmusicalscores: pixyled: stealyourshiny: violent-buddhi...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:42:17 -0500

fuckyeahmusicalscores:

pixyled:

stealyourshiny:

violent-buddhist:

Scientists discover most relaxing tune ever

Sound therapists and Manchester band Marconi Union compiled the song. Scientists played it to 40 women and found it to be more effective at helping them relax than songs by Enya, Mozart and Coldplay.

Weightless works by using specific rhythms, tones, frequencies and intervals to relax the listener. A continuous rhythm of 60 BPM causes the brainwaves and heart rate to synchronise with the rhythm: a process known as ‘entrainment’. Low underlying bass tones relax the listener and a low whooshing sound with a trance-like quality takes the listener into an even deeper state of calm.

Dr David Lewis, one of the UK’s leading stress specialists said: “‘Weightless’ induced the greatest relaxation – higher than any of the other music tested. Brain imaging studies have shown that music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions.”

The study - commissioned by bubble bath and shower gel firm Radox Spa - found the song was even more relaxing than a massage, walk or cup of tea. So relaxing is the tune, apparently, that people are being Rex advised against listening to it while driving.

The top 10 most relaxing tunes were: 1. Marconi Union - Weightless 2. Airstream - Electra 3. DJ Shah - Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix) 4. Enya - Watermark 5. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing 6. Barcelona - Please Don’t Go 7. All Saints - Pure Shores 8. AdelevSomeone Like You 9. Mozart - Canzonetta Sull’aria 10. Cafe Del Mar - We Can Fly

I actually own…. 3 of those. Hah!

shit man this motherfucker is relaxin as fuck.

This is amazing.

hurtblogger: This hangs in my doc’s office so patients can...

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:11:01 -0400

hurtblogger:

This hangs in my doc’s office so patients can better communicate pain. I’ve gotten so used to answering the 1-10 pain question, that I quit looking at it. Thus I usually report a 4, 5, or maybe 6 on the worst days. Stopping to actually look at the progressively sad faced round man, I realize my sliding pain scale is way off. I’m tough, I can handle the pain, but that attitude is doing me no favors. Do our docs take this into consideration? Can’t be sure. The men on the right are my last few weeks, unless I’m taking pain killers and end up with the mischevious gremlin faced man of the left. Regardless, I realize I owe it to myself to try and better communicate what I’m feeling, and tough doesn’t always help. There is a time to let your guard down, and that’s at the doc’s office. Do yourself a favor and reconsider these little men.

beautifullybirdy: chroniccurve: National Invisible Chronic...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:54:37 -0400

beautifullybirdy:

chroniccurve:

National Invisible Chronic Illness Week 2011 is Here! September 12-18th.

I will be posting a statistic or fact related to invisible illnesses each day.

Whoops. I didn’t even know it was this week. Go me!

heathersday: New Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Digital...

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:47:16 -0400

heathersday:

New Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Digital Magazine Debuts

Giving Chronic Pain a Medical Platform of Its Own

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:45:14 -0400

Giving Chronic Pain a Medical Platform of Its Own:

chroniccurve:

Tara Parker-Pope from the NY Times touche son chronic pain and the struggle to properly diagnose, treat, and understand this phenomenon. Why is it that our physicians are not educated to properly work with those suffering from chronic pain, and how can we as patients help?

“Most doctors view pain as a symptom of an underlying problem — treat the disease or the injury, and the pain goes away. But for large numbers of patients, the pain never goes away […] Chronic pain often goes untreated because most doctors haven’t been trained to understand it. And it is isolating: Family members and friends may lose patience with the constant complaints of pain sufferers. Doctors tend to throw up their hands, referring patients for psychotherapy or dismissing them as drug seekers trying to get opioids…”

“If the doctor can’t figure out what the underlying problem is, then the pain is not treated, it’s dismissed and the patient falls down the rabbit hole.”

autoimmunelife: tangerinaballerina: danathepaina: thecabbagest...

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:17:53 -0400

autoimmunelife:

tangerinaballerina:

danathepaina:

thecabbagestalk:

You know the standard question: “rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst pain imaginable”?

Well, this is a little pic that more accurately describes our level of pain on a daily basis. (Pic not mine, “our” being chronic pain/chronic illness sufferers.)

I love this! My current = 7.

I’m currently at an 8 on this scale. it’s gettin’ up there.

My chest… keeps going between a 2 and a 10. :( Stupid costochondritis! :(

New blog from relaxation master Andrew Johnson

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:12:12 -0400

New blog from relaxation master Andrew Johnson

Photo

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:25:06 -0400

down by the water: 15 Tips to Communicating with Deaf/deaf People

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:12:12 -0400

down by the water: 15 Tips to Communicating with Deaf/deaf People:

stfufauxminists:

feministsbakecupcakestoo:

thesedeafeyes:

15 tips on what it means to interact with a Deaf/deaf person:

(please note: This is semi-specific to people who sign, but not entirely. I think it is pretty general unless otherwise specified. Also, some of it may seem…

In many ways I depend on you - people who are not sick...

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:59:08 -0400

In many ways I depend on you - people who are not sick...:

chroniccurve:

“…I need you to visit me when I am too sick to go out. Sometimes I need you to help me with the shopping, cooking or cleaning. I may need you to take me to the doctor, or to the store. You are my link to normalcy of life. You can help me to keep in touch with the parts of my life that I miss and fully intend to undertake again, just as soon as I am able.”

A letter to those without chronic pain from those with.
Please take a moment of your time to read this.

Crayola Bomb: My Appointment

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:14:12 -0400

Crayola Bomb: My Appointment:

crayola-bomb:

So, yesterday I had my appointment with the ENT. Started off with two CT scans, one of my sinuses and one of my inner ear. Finally got into the doctors office, when a different doctor came in. It seems he was shadowing my ENT. He proceeded to, very quickly and in a low voice, tell me that all of…

This is from my other blog. Any suggestions?

Relationships and Chronic Pain: Neutral is Best

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:31:06 -0400

Chronic pain or illness is extremely difficult for an individual, but we often overlook the impact it has on the people closest to us. It can be painful to see someone you love suffering so much, and to know that you are unable to do anything to help them. Most people react in one of two ways; they become either overly solicitous or punitive.

Especially at the beginning of your journey with a chronic condition, your loved ones may act as your caretaker. They constantly ask you how you are feeling, take on the responsibilities around the household that you used to hold, and “fluff” your pillow at every opportunity. There is a strong emphasis on your illness or pain, and a neglect of the positive parts of your life. If you withdraw, whether from pain or depression, they may feel punished by you and be uncertain how to respond.

On the other end of the spectrum are punitive responses. These responses are not necessarily intended to hurt you. It is difficult to know how to react, especially with a chronic condition. However, it can make a bad situation worse. Loved ones may resent the changes your condition has brought to their lives, especially financial. They may see you neglecting certain responsibilities you used to ignore, and question the honesty of your complaints. My mom, without really meaning to be hurtful, often makes comments to me about how much of a strain I have put on them financially. It is hard, because I know she genuinely cares and doesn’t really resent me for it, but I also know it is tough and there are changes that have had to be made in all of our lives because of my pain.

Ideally, your loved ones will learn to act in a neutral manner. They will not ask you how you feel, or how your pain is, because they will have learned that when you think about your pain, it is worse. Instead, they will offer diversions and distractions to help keep you occupied. If they notice that you are struggling, they can help by asking you what your pain management strategies are, rather than coddling you or getting angry.

Hopefully, everyone around you will learn to react in a neutral manner. It is difficult, though, because most people’s instinct is to begin with caretaking. Unintentionally, they can make it more difficult for you to cope with your pain. Personally, if someone has a habit of acting either way, I try to take them aside and explain to them what would be most helpful for me. Most of the time, people act the way they do because they want to help you in any way they can, and are happy to hear suggestions.

College and Chronic Illness: The Basic First Steps to Take: Part I

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:33:02 -0400

chroniccurve:

Going to college can be a scary experience for anyone, but throw a chronic illness (or multiple) into that mix and you’re bound to feel lost at some point.

This will be part one of a long series. I will do specific in-depth posts on certain aspects— dorm life, for example, will be a singular extensive post. For now, here you have The Basics: Preparing for School Part I…

Read More

My chronic pain started during college, but this is a great list to look at. I am at the top graduate program in my field, and I don’t know what I would have done had I considered these options more before moving halfway across the country. It is a great program, and they were really wonderful about letting me take a year off when I needed it, but I have still really struggled a lot. School is hard. It is stressful. And, if your illness is anything like mine, stress makes it worse. The best thing I can recommend is to be organized and proactive. You can’t pull all-nighters anymore. Your body won’t let you. Get things done early, and turned in as soon as they are so you don’t have to worry about them anymore. It seems like pretty basic advice, but it is the best that I can offer you.

Arty Fibro Geek: Pain Apps - a list for #Fibro peeps etc

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 09:36:16 -0400

Arty Fibro Geek: Pain Apps - a list for #Fibro peeps etc :

fibro365:

I have a couple of the Andrew Johnson hypnotherapy apps and so am on the mailing list. He has a new app out today for helping with pain which I’ve just purchased.
Oddly, until receiving this mail it just hadn’t occurred to me that there would be pain related apps…So I started to search the app…

I use several of Andrew Johnson’s apps, and highly recommend them!

Chronic Pain - a disease not a syndrome

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:41:29 -0400

Chronic Pain - a disease not a syndrome :

fibro365:

…” For example, neuroimaging studies using morphometric analyses have shown that the brains of patients with fibromyalgia exhibit 3.3 times greater decreases in gray matter than healthy age-matched controls; in effect, each year that a patient has fibromyalgia is equivalent to 9.5 times greater loss of gray matter than they would expectedly have due to normal aging [Kuchinad et al. 2007].”

This is interesting.

Stuff Sick People Have to Put Up With: Open Letter: Color me an asshole, but honestly...

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:59:34 -0400

Stuff Sick People Have to Put Up With: Open Letter: Color me an asshole, but honestly...:

stuffsickpeoplehavetoputupwith:

I think if you have a chronic illness of any kind and you spend more time on any of the following activities than you do on getting productive shit done, you’re probably using your illness as an excuse to not get shit done:

Soliciting pity from others on the internet

Vociferously and repeatedly…

This is why I started my blog. Not that I haven’t bitched a little, and I don’t post nearly as often as I would like, but before I started all you saw on the chronic pain tag was people talking about how badly they hurt and how much their lives sucked. I wanted to try to add a little bit of positive info into it. Not sure how well I have actually succeeded, but I am trying.