Everyone has different versions of a good and a bad day. For me, I believe a good day is when I can be productive, motivated, work well and most importantly, look after myself. Self-care underpins every aspect of a good day, if you get that right, then the other parts start to fall into place.

Over the last few days, as I have had a flare in my pain, it would have been so easy to stop, to lie in bed and to give in. But what does it achieve? The pain is constant however it is still at a manageable level so if I stop everything, it wins. The pain will get what it wants, I will lose strength, motivation and end up isolating myself. It will interrupt my rehab and put question on my ability to study. Now, there are times when I do need to stop everything to recover and that is completely ok but today wasn’t one of those days. Today was a day when I could still achieve things despite my discomfort.

Today, I went to give in and not do anything, but something made me pause – I remembered all my knowledge on pain management and recreated my plan for the day…. The day that was going to be unproductive, suddenly transformed.

What is important for me is to maintain a baseline of activity, to pace and keep a balance. So instead of stopping, I made the day manageable, I completed the essay but from a more comfortable position with plenty of breaks. I dedicated time to rest and relax. I contacted the outside world. I carried out my physio exercises and I went for a walk for #NHS1000miles. These activities are the equivalent of my baseline, but what made today different was that I made sure that I provided myself with the self-care I needed, I took breaks, I ate properly and I maintained my purpose.

Today actually turned out to be a great day, yes I’m still hurting, but no more than I was this morning. I know that carrying out physical activity won’t make my chronic pain worse as long as I am sensible. I respected my body and gave it what it needed without completely giving in. I avoided entering the viscous cycle of boom and bust. More importantly though, I created a purpose for the day and I made it a day to be proud of! Being receptive to my body and applying my personal toolkit of pain management isn’t easy and can be frustrating but today taught me a lesson, it taught me that respecting myself and providing self-care can transform my day from a physical and mental health perspective.

 

I am significantly happier this evening because the things I have dedicated my time to have been meaningful, of good quality and worth it – I would go as far to say I have been more productive than a ‘normal’ day.

Looking after yourself matters, listening to your body matters and how you feel matters.

The frustration could have taken over but instead, I still have the control and am further forward than I was this morning and ready to deal with whatever happens tomorrow.