Lesson 4: Coping strategies - the physical aspects
Dealing with chronic pain. Managing your symptoms. "Comfort" hint - things you can use to ease the pain. Tools and other items to help you deal with diminished muscular strength. How to handle the sleep disorder.
Control your body - don't let it control you!
Like it or not (and we don't) we have to learn to live with chronic pain. This doesn't necessarily mean that we will spend all our days in agony, but we will often feel ache-y, flu-like, and sometimes worse. Sometimes our connective tissues will betray us so that we can no longer lift objects that were easy the day before - like a coffee cup.
We can't just play helpless because of this. That destroys the quality of life. Instead we need to learn how to live with it and what tools are available to us to help us do that. We will have medications and therapies recommended by our doctors - but what about coping with everyday life? Take charge of your fibro before it takes charge of you.
Barbe talks about how she regained control of her life.
