Hello Friends,
We were diving into an amazing space here at The Pain Playbook. I have been looking forward to exploring this “band-aid” track and the associated topics. There are so many things to talk about and we will be right back to that after this minor detour.
As I was sitting here looking at the blank screen, I realized that I was also internally facing a blank screen. I found myself in an interesting place – staring at the blank page in front of me and totally unable to concentrate. I mean, forming a coherent sentence has been escaping me for the past 3 hours. I was minutes away from just giving up for the day and trying to figure it all out another time. I felt defeated.
The toothache
I can speak of shoulder pain, knee pain, joint discomfort – all of which I experience routinely and all of which I push through or even ignore. But the pain that has me sidelined at this moment is The Toothache. This particular pain experience is in my Top 2 Worst Pains. It is right up there with a stomachache. To be honest, until this moment I didn’t realize I had a “worst pain” list. Moments like these facilitate this kind of creative thinking. It amuses me if nothing else and lightens the moment.
I was talking to a friend (yes, the conversation began as a complaint – not a proud moment) who mentioned that I could create a blog post about this experience. I could talk about how difficult it is to concentrate when in a pain crisis. His words hit a chord with me. I thought, this could also be very therapeutic. Like journaling. Or like talking to a good friend who understands the situation. Or even to lighten the moment and get me moving forward.
The pain of a toothache
Toothaches take me out. I struggle to concentrate, to perform, to have any willpower. If I’m going to get stuck in the pain cycle, this pain is the one to do it.
To recap, I had the laptop open to get work done. I primed myself for this workday – I would start early and have some solid hours to make big things happen. I had been waiting for this day since my client load has been heavy lately. Today, the work day would start a bit later. I would work a few hours, go to the gym and get good workout done, then make it to the office for clients. The promise of productivity was intoxicating.
I woke up early. I woke to that unfortunately familiar ache in the side of my jaw. I was thinking, give it a few minutes and it should subside. I’ll take a couple pain relievers and get about the day. I have plans. This won’t be an issue. I was wrong.
When going through an experience like a toothache (or any stubborn, continuous, annoying, unforgiving pain), everything just wants to shut down. I get sleepy and slow moving. I can’t “feel” anything else. I want to complain to anyone who will listen (or who will answer a text). I want to sleep – sorry did I already mention that? It’s a big one. The body in pain will lean towards rest for recovery. Sometimes that is totally necessary. And sometimes, we have to dig deep to push through and keep moving even in pain. That is even harder sometimes because every step feels like an uphill battle.
This is the pain experience. Whatever the pain is that ails you. Giving into the fatigue can keep you in bed, or make you cancel the workday (or really consider making some cancelation calls to those afternoon appointments). I had some moments in the morning when I thought I should just call this day a wash.
In the heat of the battle, it is so important to call on your coping skills. For me it is not an option to get stuck in the cycle. Though it might take some time, I refuse to stay stuck. Sometimes, diversion is a wonderful coping strategy. Instead of letting the pain invade your mind and circle around and around in its vulture-like patterns, we can let the thoughts out. Put your experience on paper (or recording). Like journaling or writing a blog post.
This has been incredibly helpful. I still want to take a nap. I feel like I got the complaining part done. I also feel like I was productive – I got to speak with you all like I wanted and I might still have time to get that workout in. I have not canceled any appointments, and I will get through my day. Also, a dental appointment has been booked. All in all, not too shabby.
Thanks for being here. I would love to hear your pain story as well. What are some of your coping strategies?
