How I Overcame Lazy This Week - I Counted My Blessings



Gloomy ol' Eeyore



Chronic pain is an optimist’s worst enemy.  I know I am a blessed person.  I know that I do not have the worst situation in the world at all.  But, boy, when you’re a person who has mostly experienced a pain-free and healthy existence, a bout with chronic pain can really fog up those rose-colored glasses, if ya know what I mean.

 

My serious neck pain has been going on for about a month.  Now, that doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but when there’s no escape it feels like an eternity.  It’s there with me 24/7, whether I’m moving or still, awake or asleep (Sleep? Ha!), drug-free or medicated… it’s always there.  It feels like a white-hot poker is inserted deep into my neck emanating a constant, searing, painful heat with a sharp knife close by that stabs at me sending frequent and shocking zings of pain.  All this is accompanied by an almost constant tingling down my arm, chest and back.  I have not been sleeping well; my workouts – especially running – have been torture lately; I’m often grumpy with my family and I’m finding it really hard to see the bright side of things.

There, have I made anyone feel bad for me yet?  Probably not because most likely you’re all saying, “Oh yeah, big whoop.  Try dealing with ______!”  (Filling in your own equally - if not more - torturous scenario.)

I’ve dealt with pain and injuries before but they’ve always been the kind that I’ve known will get better with time.  This pain, so far, hasn’t shown signs of improving.  And that’s a bummer.  It has been such a drain on my energy and my emotional health as well because I just feel like there’s a little black cloud hovering over me constantly.  I want my sunshine back!



Although it’s been tough to be my chipper, optimistic self, my current perspective has made me acutely more aware of my blessings.  I mean, although currently there’s no end in sight, I’m pretty confident that this will not become a life-long or life-threatening condition.  Many people out there ARE in fact dealing with such grave permanency in their afflictions.  Although some of my activities and movements have been affected, I’m (so far!) not having to deal with braces, casts, wheelchairs, prosthetics or any other things with which so many others are encumbered.  I have a loving, supportive family that is helping me stay positive and focused on the other enriching aspects of my life so it’s not always about the pain-PAIN-PAIN as it can so easily become in such circumstances.  And I have a really good heating pad.



Me and my current BFF



I am so lucky and so blessed.  Yes, unfortunately my workout frequency has reduced but I celebrate the ones I do get in.  And my marathon training runs have had to be put on hold as I modify to lower impact activities.  I’m an emotional eater, so it’s been tough to fight the urge to comfort binge, but I’ve been somewhat successful in compromising with myself (Okay, you can have 5 Cadbury mini eggs AFTER you munch on an apple).  I haven’t been perfect, but, again, I’m celebrating my small successes.  I’m trying to take control in some of the situations that I actually CAN control which is important to me when I’ve been rendered so powerless in this one major issue right now.

I’m a whiner, so I’m always going to complain about my problems, but I feel it’s a total cop-out if we allow them to overwhelm anything positive we can still squeeze out of life.  Count your blessings… because they’re there, and they’re plentiful.