Reclaim Your Joy: Simple Daily Habits to Reduce Chronic Pain by Kim Thomas
Photo courtesy of Unsplash by Austin Schmid
Chronic pain is one of the most common forms of illness in the world. For instance, migraine headaches (one of many forms of chronic pain) are the 3rd most common health condition worldwide. Back injuries, ankle sprains, and arthritis are also very common, especially with increased age. These are just a handful of the conditions that can cause chronic pain – and naturally, every situation is unique.
What’s even more troubling is that a recent study showed that pain relief medications, whether over-the-counter or by prescription, failed to alleviate symptoms in over half of all chronic pain sufferers. In addition, it is quite common to feel an increase in pain symptoms as your medications begin to wear off.
Although chronic pain is one of the contributing factors to the prescription pill addiction and opioid addiction epidemics, the good news is that there are many alternatives to pain medicines for dealing with chronic pain. For starters, you might want to consider yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques to help reduce stress and inflammation, helping to alleviate symptoms of pain.
Toxic chemicals within your household might be another contributing factor to your chronic pain. Because many chemicals in our everyday household products can contribute to chronic pain and inflammation, you might want to consider switching to all-natural household cleansers, skin products, and home cleaning products.
For instance, try substituting four thieves for your regular household disinfectants. Four thieves is an essential oil blend which also happens to be a great alternative to chemical-filled cleaning products. For centuries, people around the world have used four thieves to boost immunity and kill germs. You can even create your own custom four thieves oil by blending the following essential oils together in a bottle: cinnamon, clove, lemon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. (If you plan on wearing your custom four thieves blend on your skin, be sure to also add either coconut oil, jojoba oil or olive oil to help prevent breakouts.)
Another technique that might be helpful for those living with chronic pain is to try and keep your house generally tidy and well-maintained. This will reduce the amount of time you’ll have to spend cleaning. A messy home might sometimes require hours of cleaning and scrubbing each week, which can cause your pain to flare up.
If maintaining a clean and tidy home becomes too difficult for you, it might be time to consider hiring a housekeeper. To help minimize your workload, you can look into recruiting trustworthy family, friends, or even hiring a professional to assist you on a regular basis. This is especially important for tasks which cause you the most pain, such as high dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, or mopping.
As you can see, it is possible to thrive, even if you’re living with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or a related medical condition. There are many natural remedies and ancient wisdoms that can assist you in healing your body – and reclaiming your joy. By gradually incorporating the techniques listed above, you can regain control of your life.
Kim Thomas