The Importance Of Having Hope

This post was originally posted on Blogger November 17, 2024.

Finding Hope in the Midst of Chronic Pain: Why it Matters and How to Cultivate It

Chronic pain can be an incredibly isolating and debilitating experience. It can impact every aspect of your life, from your physical abilities to your emotional well-being. Its devastation cuts deep. Not just for the person suffering from chronic pain, but their families and loved ones too. It can have a strong hold and because of how dominating it is, it's easy to lose hope. But when you're in constant pain, holding onto hope is crucial for several reasons.

Why Hope Matters When You Live with Chronic Pain

1. Hope Fuels Resilience: Hope is the belief that things can get better, that you can find ways to manage your pain and live a fulfilling life despite it. This belief gives you the strength to keep going, even when things are tough. It encourages you to seek out new treatments, develop coping strategies, and connect with others who understand your struggles. Having resilience fuels hope, having hope fuels resilience, and finding like minded people is reassuring and comforting. At least in my experience. I’ve been told I have a lot of resilience, and if I think about it with an open mind, free of judgment, and cut through the negative self talk, I would say I agree, I do have resilience. One of the things that fuel my hope is mindfulness activities like meditation. I do the meditation videos in Apple Fitness+, as well as use a meditation app called Balance. I have my favourite instructors, and my favourite meditation categories are creativity, wisdom and resilience. When I’m doing these meditations in Apple Fitness+, I am usually colouring or drawing, as the combination of the two helps me break through the wall of pain and distress that are assaulting my brain. Doing something mindful while meditating works well enough that I can focus on the meditation instructor's words without the pain shouting at me and drowning out what’s being said. It’s a combo that works well for me. Having something mindful and restorative that fuels hope and builds resilience is one of the most important things you can do for yourself when you suffer from chronic pain.

2. Hope Reduces Stress: Chronic pain often brings with it a heavy burden of stress, leading to anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Hope acts as a powerful buffer against these negative emotions. When you feel hopeful, your body releases endorphins, which have mood-boosting and pain-relieving effects. However, living with severe chronic pain throughout my body undeniably causes immense stress that can be incredibly difficult to manage. The constant barrage of pain signals overwhelms my mind, leaving me feeling frantic, scattered, and anxious. This distress, coupled with PTSD from past medical and physical trauma, triggers a cascade of intrusive thoughts that further fuel my anxiety. These thoughts race and fling themselves erratically in my brain, leaving me feeling physically and mentally overwhelmed. When these intense episodes subside, a wave of depression often follows, casting a melancholy fog that can linger for days. It's a relentless cycle. That's why it's crucial to find those things – those seemingly small but truly significant things – that help manage the pain and foster hope. For me, certain activities provide a sense of solace and help me cope with the constant state of physical trauma and distress, ultimately reducing my overall stress. Discovering activities that act as a buffer allows hope to re-enter your life and alleviate the burden of stress. It's definitely a journey that requires consistent effort, but it is possible to find moments of reprieve and cultivate hope amidst the challenges of chronic pain.

3. Hope Improves Physical Functioning: Research has shown a link between hope and improved physical functioning in individuals with chronic pain. This might be because hopeful individuals are more likely to engage in physical activity, adhere to treatment plans, and practice self-care. True story. At the very beginning of my pain journey, with a fresh diagnosis of a severe case of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) that spread quickly, I was told that I would be in a wheelchair within 5 years, and to do as much walking as possible on my own to delay that inevitability.  That was 16.5 years ago and I am happy to say that I did not end up in a wheelchair within 5 years of developing CRPS, and in fact, worked hard to get off my forearm crutches, and cane, so that I could mostly walk without the assistance of a walking aide. To further that, having hope also helped me create a small exercise routine for myself in late 2022 that I am currently working on increasing. The act of exercising regularly helped me get back some of the hope that I had lost. Since late 2022 my mother-in-law Val and I have done a 10 minute exercise video, in Apple Fitness+, on Mondays and Thursdays, and the last couple of months I’ve been trying to add in a Mindful Cooldown on the days I don’t exercise. Last week I “leveled up” and did a Mindful Cooldown in the morning, and a Mindful Cooldown in the afternoon, on the days I did not exercise with Val. I plan on continuing this routine for the time being, eventually working myself up to 1 exercise video and 1 Mindful Cooldown every day. For doing exercise videos, Val and I use the workout program for older adults doing exercises that focus on strength and balance. In doing these regularly, both Val and I have noticed that we are steadier on our feet than we were before we started exercising, and that has helped fuel more hope.

4. Hope Enhances Quality of Life: Even when pain persists, hope allows you to focus on the things you can do and the things you can control. It helps you find meaning and purpose in your life beyond your pain, leading to a greater sense of satisfaction and well-being. The hope that I hold onto, that one day there will be a break-through treatment available for CRPS, and other chronic pain sufferers, and its dominating reach into one’s mental health, keeps me going on those hard days. By finding a variety of activities I enjoy and that benefit me, I have found an assortment of ways to increase my hope. Simply put, hope is vital to any chronic pain sufferer who wants to take their life back, on their terms. It is not something that comes easy though, but with consistency and effort, one can find that hope and benefit immensely from it.

Cultivating Hope: Practical Strategies

• Focus on Small Victories: Chronic pain can make completing even simple tasks feel like major accomplishments. It may sound silly, but reward yourself and celebrate these small victories. Whether it's taking a short walk, preparing a meal, doing laundry, or enjoying a moment of laughter with loved ones, it’s important to recognize the simple fact that you did it, despite the challenges that chronic pain brings. I have become quite good at celebrating my small wins, and treasuring that moment of feeling successful after reaching a goal or completing a task. I used to feel silly doing it, but got over that as it’s what helps me carry on despite the enormous obstacles that chronic pain causes. It’s a concept I learned using the habit’s and routine’s app Fabulous, and celebrating your victories, small or big, is something that reinforces these good habits. When you take time to celebrate, even the smallest of victories, it builds one’s hope further, and encourages you to do more of what makes you feel successful and like celebrating. Simply put, it’s pretty much a cycle of positive reinforcement.

• Set Realistic Goals: Setting and achieving small, attainable goals can boost your confidence and sense of control. Start with manageable goals and gradually increase the challenge as you progress. This concept took me a little while to learn, as in the past I was not realistic about what I was capable of achieving, and all it did was set me up for failure and negative feelings towards myself. My self esteem took a major dive, and the feelings of hopelessness were overwhelming. This one important thing that I struggled to remember consistently was to make those tasks and goals something that I could do. I was stuck in a cycle of comparing myself to able-bodied people as well as comparing myself to the person I thought I would be had I not had my accidents. For a long time I set these unrealistic goals for myself, which only set me up for feelings of being a failure which further fueled my self esteem issues. Once I learned to break down my goals and tasks into smaller tasks and chores, and I was doing this on a regular basis, achieving my goals became easier. In breaking down my tasks and goals into small, manageable steps, I began to feel better about myself because I was achieving what I set out to do. I also created a small household routine that I can follow, even on my toughest of days, which added to my feeling accomplished, successful and even confident and victorious.

• Practice Gratitude: Focusing on what you're grateful for can shift your perspective and help you appreciate the positive aspects of your life, even in the face of pain. I have a daily gratitude practice that I complete during my morning routine, as well as during my evening reflection. This can be especially hard to do when you are overwhelmed with the pain and distress your body and mind are feeling. I started my gratitude practice years ago, by listing on a notepad 3 things I was grateful for and 3 things I accomplished, at the end of my day. It was hard at first, and I had a difficult time finding those 3 things. But I persevered and was consistent. It took time, but gradually finding 3 things I was grateful for, and my 3 accomplishments became easier, and as time passed, and I continued this daily practice, I began to find more than 3 things. My mindset began to shift more positively and I started to see the good things in my life. Chronic pain seeps into every crevice of your life, and it’s hard to see through that, but it is possible. It takes hard work, consistency, and dedication, but it’s doable.

• Connect with Others: Sharing your experiences with others who understand can provide invaluable support and encouragement. Join a support group, connect with others online, or confide in a trusted friend or family member. This is something that is so, so important. I can’t stress that enough. Having people in your life, that are a part of your support system, is vital to your mental wellbeing. Chronic pain is isolating and cruel and having people in your life that you can trust with your innermost thoughts makes the burden carried by people with chronic pain a little less. Having someone understand and hear what you are going through, with no judgment and lots of compassion and understanding, lessens that heavy burden. Chronic pain takes you to some pretty dark places, and those dark places are really hard to share with others, really hard, so it’s important to seek out meaningful connections with others. In my experience, keeping quiet and shoving down your emotions do a lot of harm to a person’s mental health. I know this based on personal experience. When you bury your thoughts and emotions, it means that you are not processing them, and if you can’t process them, you can’t work through and overcome them. They begin to add up, until your body becomes so full it cannot process any more trauma and it all comes spilling out. So having at least 1 person in your life you can confide your true feelings to, makes all the difference. I’m so lucky that I have multiple people in my life that I can share the dark stuff with, without fear of being judged.

• Engage in Meaningful Activities: Find activities that bring you joy and purpose, whether it's spending time in nature, pursuing a hobby, or volunteering your time. This is another very important point that I can’t stress enough. Having that something in your life, that you are passionate about and enjoy doing, really makes all the difference. This point is what keeps me going despite the crippling pain. If I didn’t have my arts and crafts, and journaling, what would I do with myself that would be as mindful and meditative as arts, crafts and writing is to me. For me, my engaging in meaningful activities has evolved and grown right along with my personal growth and evolution into who I am today, and those activities and way I execute those activities, has expanded and grown into something I’m really proud of. I create beautiful art and cards, and have a bunch of new stuff on the horizon, and I would not have been able to do any of that if it weren’t for me finding activities that are meaningful to me. Those activities eventually turned into a small business, and they are felt in the core of my being.

• Practice Mindfulness and Meditation: These techniques can help you stay present and reduce the tendency to dwell on pain or worries about the future. I used to think meditation wasn’t for me. When you have chronic pain, meditating can be a little more difficult. When doing popular mediations, like a body scan, it can actually make you focus on your pain even more. When the room is quiet, except for the voice of the meditation instructor, my pain amplifies and I can actually hear my legs throbbing, as if they had a heartbeat. When I’m told to focus on this or that part of my body, the pain seems to intensify and I’m definitely more aware of it. So this meditation is not helpful for me. What I did find helpful was finding mindfulness in doing my arts and crafts. I gave up on trying to meditate and instead found that flow state while doing my art. I found Zentangle in 2015, and that was my official introduction to the concept of mindfulness, and as the years have passed and I’ve grown, so has my meditative practice. What brought it all together was joining Apple Fitness+ and beginning to do their meditations while I did a simple mindful activity like drawing or colouring. Eureka! I found my magic formula for meditating. I was able to listen and follow along with the instructor’s words, without my pain being the sole focus. By “distracting” myself with colouring or drawing, I was actually increasing my ability to focus on the meditation and benefit from it. It’s been truly magical. Meditation has turned into a daily practice that I enjoy very much and I feel like I get a lot out of it.

• Seek Professional Help: A therapist or counselor can provide support and guidance as you navigate the challenges of chronic pain. They can also teach you coping strategies and help you develop a more hopeful outlook. I have seen different therapists and counselors over the years, and it’s something I recommend. Even better if you can find one that focuses on treating people who have chronic pain, as it requires a different approach. Unfortunately it’s expensive and not everyone has benefits to cover the cost. So while I recommend this, I do so knowing that it’s not always an option for people with chronic pain, as we often can’t work, which means that as important as it is, therapy is not always in the budget. But, I’ve found some great, free programs out there for people suffering with chronic pain, that often include some form of counseling or coaching. See my blog posts dated Tuesday, July 9, 2024 on a free program out of the University of Victoria called Self-Management BC (https://www.selfmanagementbc.ca/home), as well as my blog post dated Sunday, August 11, 2024 on a free program from Canadian Mental Health called Bounce Back (https://bouncebackbc.ca/). Both are good programs and are completely free.

Remember: Living with chronic pain can be an ongoing struggle, but it doesn't have to be a life sentence of despair. By cultivating hope, you can find the strength to face each day with resilience, manage stress, improve your physical functioning, and enhance your overall quality of life. Hope is not about ignoring the reality of your pain. It's about acknowledging the challenges while also believing in your ability to cope and find meaning in your life despite them. Remember, hope is not a passive emotion; it requires effort and nurturing. But the rewards are immeasurable. It's a journey, not a destination, and there will be ups and downs along the way. But by cultivating hope, you can empower yourself to live a richer, more fulfilling life, even in the face of chronic pain and the rewards are immeasurable. So, embrace hope as your ally, celebrate your victories, and keep moving forward on your journey toward a more fulfilling life, even in the face of chronic pain.