Chronic pain can feel overwhelming. If you have chronic pain, I hope some of these tips can help you find some relief.

I have chronic pain myself, mostly brought on by trauma in 2016 and worsened by omicron in 2023. It’s mostly manageable and then out of nowhere I get those pain flares. It can suddenly be super intense or last extra long. Let me just validate for you that chronic pain can be pretty exhausting.

FYI I am not a medical professional or therapist. This is not medical advice. I am simply a personal mentor, singer and drummer who works with healing energy to help people like me, who suffer from chronic pain.

Tracking the pain and patterns of my body helps me to find the best ways to manage it. None of the medications, supplements, salves or other remedies I’ve ever used or am taking now can put much of a dent on the pain on their own. I just have to find the best mix of things that work for me. Everyone’s situation is unique.

Here are a few tips for chronic pain relief, and please feel welcome to share your own in the comments.

Remember you are not your pain.

Remind yourself that your pain isn’t who you are but rather a part of your experience. If your pain is in multiple places or literally everywhere, I know that can feel like a huge lie but it’s the truth. Pain may affect you in different ways but it is not you. However, your body is the messenger, so it can feel like that pain is your whole world sometimes. Find even just one tiny spot on or in your body that is not feeling pain right now. Get as creative as you need to. When you can show your brain that your whole self is not the pain but that parts of you happen to be experiencing pain, it will help you remember you are not your pain and differentiate between you, your body and the pain you are having.

Healthy Distractions:

Of course nobody wants to pursue unhealthy distractions, like addictions. If you find yourself there, rather than shaming yourself, do your best to return to healthy pain relief tactics. By the way, these are all ways YOU can find relief on your own or with someone, but please get whatever support you can as needed. If you’re seeking support, I may be able to help. You can reach out for support with pain, trauma or grief right here.

Planning ahead can help in certain situations. Get creative. Right now, updating this post is my healthy distraction. Brainstorm a few healthy distractions, so you have options in your back pocket when you need them. I have a list somewhere I see it throughout the day, so it reminds me to be mindful and to do easy alternative activities or even just to stop and rest. Know what your unhealthy distractions tend to be and find simple replacements that feel good. For example, instead of emotional eating, I might just go pet my cat.

Change Your Mind:

What’s an easy way to literally change your mind? Words have power. For example, if I am triggered into trauma, I tell myself to MELT. I imagine I am like a popsicle, just melting slowly and calmly, coming down to a place of peace and presence. I also use affirmations and song lyrics to rewire my brain with thought patterns and beliefs that support me better.

Get Control of Your Breathing.

Breathing into the belly is step 1, to get you back into your body but also in touch with the essence of who you are.

You can try whatever breathwork practices you want and see what works best for you. If you have low blood pressure, you may need to be extra mindful of what kind of breathwork you do, since some forms of breathwork can reduce your blood pressure. If you enjoy guided meditations, listen to one. If you are having a panic attack or anxiety attack, please slow down and deepen your breathing. Take your time. Give your attention to the bottoms of your feet. Give yourself a hug. Get under a warm blanket. Whatever it takes, you want to allow your body, heart and brain to be resourced with, but not overwhelmed by, oxygen and whatever other nutrients our brains need. You want your emotional chemical soup to simmer down, so you can feel a little better.

Imagine you are trying to soothe a baby. Be gentle with yourself.

Meditate – however you can.

Someone put me into a deep sweet meditation during labour with my 10.2 lb natural-born daughter. I had zero medications. Not bragging about that. It was a choice for my own trauma healing. Suffice it to say it felt impossible that for the short time I was able to meditate, I could feel the contractions but without feeling any of the pain. It doesn’t always work to completely eliminate pain via meditation, but I just wanted you to know what’s possible. The meditation was short because the person was helping in many other ways. I can only imagine if they’d been able to continue. Still, even that short process helped me to get more grounded and breathe through the pain more effectively for the rest of the many hours of labour.

Cry it out.

If you carry chronic pain, it’s very likely you have built up a pretty big pain tolerance level. It’s also possible you aren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of crying out the pain, or crying at all.

The tears we cry are medicine tears, to help us to feel, flow and release emotions. If we don’t cry, where do those emotions go? You won’t like the answer, which is what I found out after my son died. Those emotions that we avoid can turn up in the body as built-up pain. The good news is, since emotions can be moved, we just have to get that pain to remember what it is (unexpressed emotions), to be able to release it.

Last one… Listen to music!

Sure, I am a singer and hand drummer, but music is a universal healer. What are your favourite songs? What makes you instantly feel more alive? What helps you to move out excess grief or other emotions? What do you love dancing to? What makes you bounce, laugh or sing along?

Be mindful of the lyrics you listen to and sing, so they take you where you want to go.

Our virtual events might be helpful to you if you identify as a covid-conscious woman or non-binary person. What I hear most from people who attend them is that they feel lighter.

If you have tips you’d like to add to these, please do! I am sure many other people looking for chronic pain relief tips will appreciate your advice.

Thanks & Blessings,

Brenda