Meaningful activities

One of the perhaps biggest problems with chronic pain is that it often takes us away from things, people and situations that are meaningful to us. This has a huge negative impact on our mental health and quality of life - as if dealing with the actual physical pain wasn't enough. It also worsens your pain experience, which then affects your mental health and quality of life even more, and so on.

In order not to let the pain take away the things that are meaningful to you, grab a piece of paper and write down everything that makes you really happy, gives your life meaning and fulfills you. This can be anything, for example spending time with your closest friends, traveling, sit outside and enjoy the sun, go swimming or horseback riding, meditating, have romantic date nights, scrapbooking or eating chocolate cake. Try to write down both small and mundane things that can easily be done, as well as larger things that require a lot of time or planning. When you're done, it's time to start doing these things - you can plan them in advance or just hang the list on the wall and do things spontaneously. Remember that, behind all the pain, you are still YOU, and you can live a meaningful life despite it all!