chronicmom.com

A few weeks ago I was re-reading an old post of mine about loneliness with chronic illness when I read this line: And you, your life depends on how bad the weather is that day, or how long it takes you to recover from standing in line at the DMV, or whether or not the doctor screwed up your prescription. Even little things are a big deal when you live with chronic pain Reading this line was a reminder to me that things that are completely insignificant in the life of a healthy person can be a huge deal for someone living with chronic pain or chronic illness

The emotional side effects of living in pain Emotion and chronic pain or chronic illness are complicated. Not one day goes by that I don’t hear a horror story of a pharmacist refusing to fill someone’s medication because they don’t believe the medication is needed. The usual excuses are: you’re too young for this much medication, I don’t think this medication applies to your condition, I’m judging you for taking a controlled substance, I don’t like your doctor, or I just don’t like you. There’s a reason that people with chronic pain/illness are three times more likely to develop depression and anxiety then healthy people.

Every time I have a flare and end up stuck in my bed, my whole life collects in my room, specifically on the nightstand. So this made me think about what my favorite things are to keep on hand, right by my bed and what things that everyone in pain should have easily accessible

Are you afraid of complaining about your illness? Are there times you hold back because you are worried about what the other person will think? I don’t talk about my health problems very often, not even to my spouse. In fact he complains about his health more than I do and he’s perfectly healthy