Why A Positive Attitude Helps In Coping With Arthritis Pain.
Think Positive To Relieve Arthritis Pain.
My name is Cathy Posner and I live in Wauchope which is on the
Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. I was born in
1957 and in late 2004 was told that the aches in my joints were
Rheumatoid Arthritis.
My husband, Ray has a very positive approach to everything and I
guess that has rubbed off on me, so rather than sit back and let
things progress I decided to see what I could do for myself.
Let me give you an example of Ray's positive attitude. In
September 2003 he had to have open heart surgery to replace his
aortic valve. We live on 160 acres so before he went into
hospital he slashed a walking track so that he could regularly
exercise when he came out of hospital.
Not only that he left the tractor set up for slashing. Four
weeks after surgery, even though he was not allowed to lift
anything heavier that a 2 liter bottle of milk (about 4 pints)
he got the OK to slash the paddocks as long as he did big easy
turns at the end of each run. (Actually I think he secretly
enjoyed having me open the car door for him and carry the
groceries.)
So, as you can see, in his mind there was no way that he wasn't
going to get back to a normal life as quickly as possible, but
within the guidelines of what the Doctors told him.
Now when you live with someone like that it's hard not to take a
positive approach.
How can having a positive attitude help you in your fight
against the pain and difficulties arthritis can cause?
I know some of you already reading this have a positive approach
so please bear with me.
As I was saying Ray's positive attitude helped him in his
recovery. I don't know how much pain he was in but I can imagine
it was considerable. After all you don't have your sternum sawn
in half and rejoined without pain.
In fact for some time he had to clutch a folded towel to his
chest whenever he coughed or went to the bathroom but he never
complained once.
He just got on with life within the restraints set by the
Doctors and in fact even started a new business while he was
recovering.
OK you might ask "how does this relate to me"? I know pain can
be an all consuming, overpowering feeling but you need to get
your mind off it.
If you sit back and wallow in self-pity your days and nights
will drag, you will become depressed (or even more depressed)
and your pain feeds upon itself - your mind magnifies the
intensity of your pain and you feel even worse.
If this describes you and my comments offend you then I am sorry
but hopefully what I am about to say will be a "wake up" call
for you.
What are the benefits of having a positive attitude? Well to
start with your mind can be trained to focus on things other
that your pain. When it does, your pain is shut out creating a
sense of feeling better. This feeling feeds on itself in the
same way that if you allow yourself to focus on your pain, it
seems to get worse.
Can you learn to have a positive attitude? Of course you can. If
you are still breathing you have the ability to learn. And
really it is not so much "learning" but altering the state of
your mind.
All you need is the desire to help yourself, to get relief from
your pain and overcome obstacles that your arthritis creates for
you.
May I suggest some things you can do?
How is your lifestyle? Do you look after yourself? Your
wellbeing is very important to how you feel and influences how
you think.
Diet and Exercise are important to your overall health. If you
are not eating correctly and doing some exercise within your
limits, you are not helping yourself in your fight to get
arthritis pain relief.
To read more about diet, foods that can help, foods to avoid and
to get some great tips on getting started with exercise simply
click on the link at the end of this article and then follow the
links on the home page.
I recommend you read a book on Positive Thinking. There are some
excellent publications available and most will give you the
tools you need.
Sit down and relax. Think back to when you didn't have the
inconvenience and pain of arthritis. Pick a point in time when
you were doing something that you enjoyed.
Now focus on that thing. Experience it again. Feel the emotion
associated with it. Live it. Breathe it. Be there - in your mind
be that person that you were then.
Do this 2 or 3 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. Tip:
if you sit down and find you go to sleep, try standing up.
This technique helps to reprogram your subconscious to think
"pain free" and you should find that your pain decreases or may
actually "go away".
You can also use this anytime your pain starts to get the better
of you. Just go back to that time when you were pain free and
allow your mind to again experience that feeling.
This really works. But don't just do it once - you must do it
every day, without fail and you will soon see the benefits.