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Welcome to the
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PainSupport Newsletter
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Editor: Jan Sadler of PainSupport
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No.183, June 2010
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Pacing - Two Top Tips
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by Jan Sadler
of PainSupport
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© Jan Sadler www.painsupport.co.uk
2010
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Those of us with long-term pain will invariably have
‘flare-ups’ where the pain worsens, despite medication and treatments.
This can lead to us protecting ourselves so we probably don’t do as many
different or interesting things as we would like to do each day.
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If you think about it, you may find that you are doing two
things in particular which may result in ‘flare-ups’ and lead to you
limiting your activities.
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1. Doing too much
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You may be trying to do too
much in one session, especially with day to day tasks, in order to
get them done.
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2. Limiting
activities
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At the same time you may also be limiting what you do in other areas of your life, to try to
avoid increasing your pain.
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Let’s look at
those two
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1. Doing too much.
If you overdo things and push yourself too far, too fast, and despite
your medications and treatments, you are bound to have pain ‘flare-ups’.
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Many of us live by ‘inner rules’ that tell us 'I must give
100%', 'I can't stop until I finished', 'I must
put other people's needs before mine'.
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2. Limiting activities. If you limit
what you do, it means that you restrict your life and make it less
enjoyable. Living like this, our lives gradually narrow down and maybe
aren't as much fun or fulfilling as they could be.
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Neither of these tactics, doing too much and/or limiting
activities, is a very satisfactory approach. So although you may be
taking medicine and having treatments, you, yourself, still need to have
an input into how you organise your day. You need to give your pills a
helping hand!
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Useful ways
forward
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1. Doing too much.
Realise that you don't need to obey your 'inner rules'. They are out of
date for your current situation. A more constructive way to think might
be, 'I'll do what I can without pushing myself hard and then stop and do
the rest later', 'If I don't look after myself
first I'm not well placed to look after anybody else'.
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2. Limiting
activities. Once you realise you don't have to be so hard on
yourself, you can think about expanding your life, rather than
restricting it. Think about what you would truly like to be able to do or
to be. Set yourself a few goals. Think how you could go about them,
taking into account the new way of going about it, as in No.1 just above,
doing a little at a time.
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For example, if
I went on journey of more than about 15 minutes, I invariable had a
flare-up of pain that lasted several weeks. This meant I didn’t go out
very often because of having to stay at home to recover. I seemed to spend
most of my days recovering from outings! This approach was obviously
ineffective as it was causing more problems than an outing was worth. I
eventually stopped going out altogether in a bid to protect myself – but that
was not good for my morale!
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To overcome
this cycle of events I now take local, very short trips of just a few
minutes. I may visit just one shop, briefly, or go to a nearby park or
beauty spot for a very short while. This method is far more enjoyable and
I can get out a little more often than before – and without a big
increase in pain. It’s common sense really but we often miss the obvious
in our desire for ‘normality’.
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Summing up
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1. Think about what your ‘inner rules’ are telling you, and
adjust them if necessary.
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2. ‘Pace’ your activities, set goals and find ways to
achieve them.
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This approach will give your medications and treatments a
better chance to do their work and so enhance their effectiveness. You
will then be more able to live a more fulfilled and meaningful life
despite having pain.
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More 'Pacing' Tips
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- Don't regard having to take small steps as a hindrance or
frustration. View each small stage as an achievement in following your
plan!
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- Break up activities and tasks
into short sessions. Small steps, little and often is the key. This way
you will achieve more.
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- Get to know for how long you can
do a task without increasing the pain.
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- Plan your days to get a good balance of activities
throughout the day.
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- Set goals which include pleasure
and enjoyment each your day.
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- Goals should be in achievable, small steps, started at a
low level, which will give you success.
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© Jan Sadler PainSupport, www.painsupport.co.uk 2010
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PainSupport’s motto for a tranquil mind:
"Focus on what you CAN do and not on what you
can’t."
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More information
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PainSupport’s pages on pacing:
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www.painsupport.co.uk/relief/04pacing.html
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www.painsupport.co.uk/products/01books01.html
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www.perfectrelaxation.com/books.htm
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Log on to PainSupport for more helpful ideas,
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www.painsupport.co.uk
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Highly
Recommended – a Pain Relief Classic
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The book is truly supportive, like a knowledgeable friend.
It's overflowing with ideas, information and practical, simple techniques
to reduce and gain control over pain.
A wonderfully pain-relieving CD is included.
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Recommendations
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“Jan
Sadler's book is very well written, and very imaginative. It
is also very accurate regarding the principles of coping with chronic
pain, which I believe are essential for any chronic pain sufferers who
medicine cannot help. I am sure it will bring significant benefit
for those people who take up the suggestions you provide. I will
certainly be recommending this book to my patients.”
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Dr. J C D Wells, MB, ChB, LRCP,
MRCS, LMCC, FRCA. Consultant in Pain Relief, Liverpool, UK.
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“Episodes
of pain caused me immense distress and until your book the constant pain
had returned on a daily basis. I felt unable to cope and a real failure
as a surgery hadn't removed the pain. Now thanks to your techniques I
feel in control of my body and the confident this brings makes it easier
to cope. The positive messages are an inspiration and because you have
experienced pain the book conveys your absolute understanding and
positive approach.”
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JD, Essex, UK
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As always, proceeds from every
sale go towards the upkeep of the PainSupport site.
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www.painsupport.co.uk/products/01books01.html
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or
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www.perfectrelaxation.com/books.htm
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Stress Reducing Tip
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Magic words
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With their implication of positivity, ‘magic words’ help
you to accept what is happening at any time. They can soothe and allay
your fears. At difficult moments , choose a
phrase that will shift your attitude. There are some examples below, but
feel free to make up your own phrases.
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I'll find the opportunity in this problem.
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Even this will pass away.
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Whatever happens, I'll handle it.
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It will take the time it takes.
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Be calm, be still.
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It worked for me!
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PainSupport member, Phil R, in the United States, has constant
hip and knee pain. She says,
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“Pills do not
help with the pain. The only thing that has honestly done me any good is
a heating pad and White Liniment.
I hope this will help someone else. Phil”
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White Liniment, £4.30
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www.securitydirect.co.uk
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Heat pad
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www.boots.com
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Tell us!!
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If you
try any product or therapy that helps you in some way, please let us know,
even if it only reduces symptoms a little, as it may help others too.
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ItWorkedForMe@PainSupport.co.uk
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Mindfulness
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InnerSpace have a great new
idea for moving through daily challenges without feeling overwhelmed, for
having more pleasure, being less busy and yet still staying in charge.
Their philosophy is -
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.pause
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.think
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.act
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.pause and focus on what's
important and ‘go inside’ and be mindful for a few moments
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.think clearly to find solutions and
determine your next move.
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.act decisively, know
when to adapt or when to hold your ground.
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Read all about it on their website, where there are tips,
techniques and lovely 3 minute mindfulness videos. You can sign up for
daily mindfulness messages – all for free. This topic is available for a
limited time, but InnerSpace always have
something else similar for you to be involved with.
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http://www.innerspace.org.uk and
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http://www.innerspace.org.uk/index.asp?page=29879&is=6388
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PainSupport Newsletter
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If you have friends who you think would like our newsletter,
you are welcome to forward it to them.
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If you’re reading this and haven’t already signed up for your
own copy, just write to us and we’ll add you to our mailing list, PLUS
you’ll be first to hear of the latest news, offers, etc, AND receive the
PainSupport Tool Kit – an easy-to-use guide to pain relief methods!
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Sign
me Up!
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signmeup@painsupport.co.uk
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Tool Kit
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Make yourself a Tool Kit! Use a
folder to keep notes of any self-management pain relief methods you find
useful.
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Your Tool Kit is especially useful
during setbacks or when pain flares up. It will give you constructive
ideas to focus upon so you can move forwards and start to get your pain
under control.
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NB Keep your Pain Logs in
your Tool Kit – you can find a link to them near the end of the
newsletter.
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The
PainSupport Contact Club and Discussion Forum
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An Invitation…
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If you’re not already a member,
why not join our free, highly successful Confidential Contact Club and
Discussion Forum? Since we started back in 2001 we’ve had thousands of
members! Ease the pain by sharing life's ups and downs with those who
understand – and perhaps find some answers too. Here is message recently
received from D, a UK
member of the PainSupport Contact Club,
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“It is nearly
four years now since my back problems started, being finally diagnosed
with degenerative disc disease and a split lumbar disc. Two
contacts made through the PainSupport Contact Club have helped me make it
through some difficult and dark times. I have retrained as a college
tutor, and now work part time teaching, and have another part time job
with a company that helps disabled and incapacitated people to find
suitable work. I find this
satisfying, even though the financial rewards are not as great. So, I
must thank you for Pain Support Contact Club. It helped give me the support and
confidence to rebuild my life.”
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Join or Login the Contact Club for
new friends...
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www.painsupport.co.uk/data/cc_contactclub.asp
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Join or Login the Discussion
Forum…
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Complete a separate short
registration form for the friendly and helpful PainSupport Discussion
Forum:
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www.painsupport.co.uk/data/df_viewtopics.asp
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Words of wisdom
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'The secret of
health and happiness for both body and mind is not to mourn for the past,
nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely.'
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-- Buddha
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Keep Smiling…
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Gardening Rule
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When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a
weed
and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.
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If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable
plant.
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- - Author Unknown
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Editor’s Note
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I hope you find the above ideas
useful. For more information and ideas for pain relief, please go to the PainSUPPORT and/or Perfect Relaxation websites,
addresses below.
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All best wishes – and keep
smiling!
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Jan at PainSupport
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www.painsupport.co.uk
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www.perfectrelaxation.com
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Your FREE
Pain Logs!
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Print off as many copies as you need. They will help you
keep track of your pain, find out what affects it, and can be use for
medical consultations, if necessary, to show your doctor how your pain
affects you.
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a) www.painsupport.co.uk/enewsletter/painlevelslog.pdf
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This log will be a record of your
actual pain level.
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b) www.painsupport.co.uk/enewsletter/painfeelingsandactivitylog.pdf
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This log will help you to
discover how your activities and feelings may affect your pain.
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You may print the above Newsletter for your own personal
and private use but if you wish to use all or part of it for any other
reason, please ask first as Copyright belongs to Jan Sadler.
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Many of the tips in this
Newsletter are not from medical sources, so please use your own
discretion or, preferably, check it out with your doctor, before trying
any of the suggestions. Please also have any undiagnosed pain checked out
by a doctor.
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Products, sites and
organisations mentioned in the Newsletter are merely being brought to
your attention. Check everything yourself before purchasing or acting on
any of the information. PainSupport is not responsible for the content of
any other website mentioned. PainSupport NEVER passes on your email
address to anyone else without your prior permission.
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We hope you enjoyed reading
this newsletter. However, if you'd rather not receive future PainSupport
newsletters, please let us know. unsubscribe@painsupport.co.uk
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Copyright © Jan Sadler 2010
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