Re: Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

[Guest guest]

Elaine, what a great article! Thanks so much for sharing it.

Carol in FL

[ ] Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

Dear Friends,

I found this article to be very informative and helpful.

I hope you do, too!

In Christian Love

elaine

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

Any person that has lived with chronic pain for any length

of time knows what isolation is about. It is about the fact

that pain produces fatigue, and this dictates what you are

able to do. The pain and fatigue twist our minds into

making it seem as if there is nothing left to give out to

others, and so eventually it is just easier not to expend

the extra energy it takes to even talk to another person.

Even those that are very close to us may not understand.

What healthy people do not understand is that even talking

to another person is exhausting when you live with pain.

Chronic pain and Fatigue cause our body to shut down and

eventually this can lead to isolation. Unfortunately this

is not a solution! We need to keep contact with the world,

family and friends, but we also need to pick our activities

carefully. Contact with people feeds our spirit, and we need

that to heal. So, how can we find the energy and time to

open up to the world? Keep in mind we DO NOT have ANY

energy to share, so choose wisely!

Here are some tips:

1. Set " Rules To Live By " for yourself, and stick with it.

2. Choose your activities wisely.

3. Pace your activities and give yourself mini-breaks.

4. Rest between activities - even if that means skipping a day.

5. Eliminate people, from your life, who do not understand and

cause you to waste precious energy.

6. Keeping in contact with the world, can be done via telephone,

the internet, fax, a written letter or card, and without the

exhausting draining energy of attending functions.

7. Learn to say ' NO ' to people and activities.

8. Keep appointments and visits short.

9. Forgive yourself when you need to cancel an activity or an

appointment. Guilt causes more pain and anxiety.

10. Keep a variety of hobbies close by, to work on. Hobbies

help take your mind off the pain. Having more than one Hobby

allows you a choice when your body is not functioning to par.

Isolation leads to depression, and depression leads to more

pain. It is extremely important to break this cycle, and

keep our minds busy. Work on creating a balance between

doing too much, and flaring, and just enough to give

yourselves a feeling of accomplishment. Kate Purcell,RN

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

LupusQuestT H E A L T H L I N E

May 2002 Volume 5, Issue 9

Copyright 1997- 2002, Americas MedaKate Organization

http://www.medakate.org/ " > All rights

reserved. May be freely copied and shared with a friend

provided no modifications have been made and no additional

fee for reading this specific work is charged.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Elaine. What a great article. I'm going to save it to read

from time to time.

Hugs & Prayers...

Tess

[Guest guest]

Hi Elaine,

This was interesting to read. Thank you for sending it, think I will

print it out and keep it.

Lynn (MeMom)

----------

> From: elaine <elainer@...>

> thrive <fibro-thrive >; RA

<RA-Support >

> Subject: [ ] Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

> Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 7:03 PM

>

> Dear Friends,

>

> I found this article to be very informative and helpful.

> I hope you do, too!

>

> In Christian Love

> elaine

>

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

> Chronic Pain and Exhaustion:

>

> Any person that has lived with chronic pain for any length

> of time knows what isolation is about. It is about the fact

> that pain produces fatigue, and this dictates what you are

> able to do. The pain and fatigue twist our minds into

> making it seem as if there is nothing left to give out to

> others, and so eventually it is just easier not to expend

> the extra energy it takes to even talk to another person.

> Even those that are very close to us may not understand.

> What healthy people do not understand is that even talking

> to another person is exhausting when you live with pain.

>

> Chronic pain and Fatigue cause our body to shut down and

> eventually this can lead to isolation. Unfortunately this

> is not a solution! We need to keep contact with the world,

> family and friends, but we also need to pick our activities

> carefully. Contact with people feeds our spirit, and we need

> that to heal. So, how can we find the energy and time to

> open up to the world? Keep in mind we DO NOT have ANY

> energy to share, so choose wisely!

>

> Here are some tips:

> 1. Set " Rules To Live By " for yourself, and stick with it.

> 2. Choose your activities wisely.

> 3. Pace your activities and give yourself mini-breaks.

> 4. Rest between activities - even if that means skipping a day.

> 5. Eliminate people, from your life, who do not understand and

> cause you to waste precious energy.

> 6. Keeping in contact with the world, can be done via telephone,

> the internet, fax, a written letter or card, and without the

> exhausting draining energy of attending functions.

> 7. Learn to say ' NO ' to people and activities.

> 8. Keep appointments and visits short.

> 9. Forgive yourself when you need to cancel an activity or an

> appointment. Guilt causes more pain and anxiety.

> 10. Keep a variety of hobbies close by, to work on. Hobbies

> help take your mind off the pain. Having more than one Hobby

> allows you a choice when your body is not functioning to par.

>

> Isolation leads to depression, and depression leads to more

> pain. It is extremely important to break this cycle, and

> keep our minds busy. Work on creating a balance between

> doing too much, and flaring, and just enough to give

> yourselves a feeling of accomplishment. Kate Purcell,RN

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

> LupusQuestT H E A L T H L I N E

> May 2002 Volume 5, Issue 9

> Copyright 1997- 2002, Americas MedaKate Organization

> http://www.medakate.org/ " > All rights

> reserved. May be freely copied and shared with a friend

> provided no modifications have been made and no additional

> fee for reading this specific work is charged.

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

>

>

>

>

>