Last week I talked about the boom bust so many of us in chronic pain find ourselves in. Pushing hard on good days or when we have had enough, and then finding ourselves in flares and being frustrated and usually kinda devastated!
I get asked all the time how I finally beat my pain after 20 years of feeling like my butt was on fire and I had a knife stuck in it. That SI pain was no joke, and neither was my amazing ability for boom-bust cycles. Seriously, I have no idea why no one explained these things to me! I really think I would have tried to live differently if I had known this rugged type A, over-achieving, I do it myself, push through the pain attitude, was PART of what was hurting me!
If you understand the boom-bust cycle and are ready to move beyond it, keep reading for 6 key strategies for pacing. We need pacing to help level out our activity levels and calm our nervous systems by managing how much input we give them.
Where do I start?
The first part of pacing is finding your baseline. Your baseline is the amount of activity you can do without causing a flare-up of symptoms. It is almost an art form. The trick is to work out your time limits on activities such as sitting, standing, walking, etc., and how long you can do each activity before the pain starts to increase.
Grab your free baseline workbook here!
Pacing Strategy #1
Recognize both physical, mental, and emotional activities are a load to the nervous system
Pain can take up a lot of space in our thoughts, feelings, and body – so it’s no shock that sometimes little changes in our world and experiences can overload us and cause a flare. By recognizing flares are more than tissue damage, you are on your way to better management.
Pacing Strategy #2
Reduce your own expectations
Raise your hand if you are a type A. I know I am. This was a hard strategy for me. I have high expectations of myself and how much I “should” be able to do on any given day. I started by recognizing all-or-nothing words in my head, should, all, never, always… those were words that signaled I had some switching to do in my thinking. I needed to give myself some grace and space.
I’m a huge list maker, so this is a great way to figure out how much you really expect from yourself in a day. Write down what you want to get done and think you reasonably can. Then match that against what you are able to do. Give yourself permission to do less so that over the long run you can do more in the long run with fewer days in greater pain and sidelined from life.
Pacing Strategy #3
Limit the number of your activities in a day
Time, practice, and patience is the key to pacing. Sometimes we have to say no to things so we can do other things. This isn’t selfish, this is smart. If you know you want to volunteer at school, that may not be the best day to also plan grocery shopping. therapy, and date night. Plan your big things first and little things around it. It’s ok to say no to things that aren’t as important to you and your family or things that line up with what you really value in life.
Pain can “take” a lot from our lives and I made the mistake of letting it take my hobbies and things that gave me joy and replaced those things with “have to’s”. I wish I had spent time on a hobby to lighten my spirit and not on my hands and knees leaning the toilet. I missed opportunities to feed myself and not my pain,
Pacing Strategy #4
Break larger activities part into smaller parts
Gotta keep the house clean right? Or slay the ever-growing pile of laundry. Well, what if you did a load a day and not 6 loads? Or what if you went to the laundromat and did 6 loads all at the same time?! It’s ok to modify your world. We use all kinds of devices to roll and stretch, massage, heat, and on and on. Yet so few of us think of breaking down big things into smaller things.
One place I felt I did this well was dinners. By the time evening rolled around I was d.o.n.e. So, I learned to create freezer meals and made lots of use of doubling meals one to eat now and one for later as well as tons of crock pot and instant recipes that shortened my time on my feet. Pinterest is a great place to find ideas and if you have a grocery store where you can order online, that was another energy saver.
Pacing Strategy #5
It’s ok to save energy for later
Pacing Strategy #6
Ask for help
Probably one of the hardest things to do, but so worthwhile. Our friends and family often want to help but have no idea what to do for us. Make a list of things you can accept help with and be willing to be vulnerable and ask others to help. Here is a post that helps you outline what kind of help you need. Be that going with you to run errands, or someone cleaning the kitchen floor before a party – you never know what joy you will bring others by asking them to help you!
So now that you have all these wonderful strategies. Here is a workbook for you to chart your activity and help you being to find your baseline. The amount you can do in a day before flares start kicking in. It may take a few weeks of charting to find your patterns, but I have every confidence you will find them.
Should you want some extra help, that’s what I’m here for! Book a coaching package with me here, and we will get you all sorted and figure out the best pacing strategies for you to live the life you want and move beyond your pain.
Jump on over to Facebook and share your pacing strategies with us in our support group!
