response for Janeene

[Guest guest]

Moderator's note:

This message from Kit from California came through the chronic

pain owner site, instead of the Chronic_Pain . I copied it and am

sending it now.

Kaylene

Thanks for the welcome, Janeene. Today does seem to be a bit better. I took an

extra pill last night of the medication that helps me get into a deeper sleep,

so that may be relevant. (I usually take 3 but dr. says I can take up to 5 if I

need to.)

I was attracted to this group partly because the description says the emphasis

is on " having a life. " I really need to work on that. When I go through a really

bad patch with the pain I tend to isolate and lose my desire to do even the

things I can still do. That is, I get depressed. I'm not on anti-depressants,

but am always monitoring myself to see if it's time to start. In the meantime, I

try to make choices that will lead me away from depression.

Today, for instance, a respite worker is taking care of my disabled son for a

few hrs. I feel physically up to going to a movie (if I take 2 portable heating

gel packs and my back support with me--my husband carries all this stuff). But

in my head I think: Why pay all that money to see a movie when I really don't

even feel like it?

However, I realize if I go to a movie I have something to talk about with other

people, it cuts into my own perception that I don't have a life, it's a way of

engaging with the world. So I'm going to do it even though I don't feel like it

that much.

Kit from California