Finding Joy with Chronic Pain

Everyone is seeking happiness in their lives, but for some, it may feel less attainable if you are living with chronic pain. This sort of pain can affect you every second of every day. Constant pain in your body can often feel overwhelming—you may question if joy is possible within those circumstances. Finding happiness is achievable with acceptance and incorporating different methods to help cope with pain.

This article is not saying that your chronic pain will just “go away” or invalidate your struggles, but rather it will give you proven methods that can help alleviate chronic pain and help you gain a sense of control over it. With some effort, it’s possible to decrease symptoms of chronic pain and help you live a life focused on joy.

Sleeping with Chronic Pain

Sleep is a tricky subject because it’s easy to say “get 8 hours of sleep” when sleeping with a chronic illness or pain can be frustrating and unattainable. However, scientific studies show that lack of sleep can actually make the pain worse. So the question is: how can we sleep easier at night? The most obvious answer is exercise. Exercise will help you rest better at night and elevate your endorphins. This will result in you sleeping better, as well as lowering your pain. Listening to something soothing at night can help too. Even listening to a podcast or playing a relaxing movie in the background can sometimes take your mind off of the pain enough to fall asleep. Another thing you can do to promote healthier sleeping patterns is to cut off caffeine in the afternoon and drink less alcohol. 

Meditation: Does it actually help?

If you aren’t familiar with meditation, it might be beneficial to look more into it. Not only can meditation help with joy in your waking life, but it can also help with pain management. One study, “Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” tested people with various chronic pain issues to see if meditation would make any positive differences in their quality of life. The results were astounding; there was a significant difference for the group that meditated. They were found to have lower depression and anxiety and better management of pain. This resulted in them feeling more in control of their lives. Another study showed that mindfulness meditation studied in clinical trials reduced chronic pain by 57 percent, a significant aftereffect. It may be beneficial to give it a try if you are dealing with chronic pain, it doesn’t require physical exertion and the benefits are substantial. There are free videos on Youtube that can get you started.

Finding joy with such adversity is a hard thing to achieve, but not impossible. Accepting the pain in your life is the first step. It’s not going away, but it doesn’t mean that every day will be difficult. Incorporating restful sleep and meditation are just a couple things that have been proven to alleviate pain and help you gain a sense of control over it. There are many different resources and medications that can help deal with chronic pain and help you live the life that you deserve. Be strong and know that you are not alone in dealing with these issues. 

— Madison Calhoon