Let’s face it: living life with pain, agony, and illness isn’t easy.
There are mornings when you struggle with the urge to skip work because your body hurts so much.
There are occasions where you have to smile, despite screaming internally.
There are times when you feel depression creeping in and slowly feeding on your happiness.
There are days when you feel like giving up because all the drugs and treatments no longer work.
If you can relate to any of the above, then I’m here to tell you to not give up – there’s still hope. There’s still time. I want you to realise that you can easily change things around and it’s still not too late to make a positive impact on your life!
During my battle with chronic pain, the one thing I learned was that the most effective thing I could possibly do to get out of pain was creating a series of small habits. This involved developing new ones and ditching the unhealthy ones that were making me sick.
We aren’t meant to live a life full of pain, agony, and misery. We all deserve to be healthy and happy. So if you are tired of imagining what it must be like to live a pain-free life and want to embrace it, then keep reading – in this blog post, I will discuss some positive and healthy habits that you should most definitely try to develop in order to lead a life free from all sorts of unwanted physical and mental miseries, as well as some tips to help you create them by starting small. Come and join our Freedom From Pain Community, where you can find the support and love you need to make your newly created habits last. Let’s begin!
A list of healthy habits you can create
As mentioned above, in order to get out of pain, you need to create a small series of healthy habits. But which ones? Let’s take a look at them one by one.
Eating the right tThings
You are what you eat. An interesting way of looking at this famous saying is that if you consume unhealthy and disease-causing items on a regular basis, you are bound to become unhealthy yourself. Some of those items include meat, processed items, and anything that comes in a packaging. I invite you to embrace a green diet and advise preparing your meals at home.
Moving on a daily basis
Those who suffer from pain understand how challenging it can be to take even a few steps. There was a time when I had to force myself to walk every day to overcome my pain. You should do the same. I understand that it can be extremely challenging to move. But if you do something as simple as getting out of bed and stretching or taking a few steps on a daily basis, I guarantee that you will eventually start moving like you once used to!
Sleeping on time
During sleep is when the body repairs itself. While it’s true that when coping with pain, it can be especially difficult to fall asleep at night or to develop a regular sleeping pattern, you should still be in bed on time and try your best to shut off all negative thoughts and physical sensations.
Looking at things from a positive perspective
Last but not least, having a positive perspective on life is extremely crucial to finding freedom from pain. For this purpose, you can start by developing a self-care mindset and accepting it within your heart that you deserve to get better. If you develop the habit of having a positive outlook on life, you will automatically start to feel a lot better.
Tips on how to create healthy habits
Now that you are aware of what healthy habits you should be aiming to develop in your life, I’m going to share some tips on how you can actually create them.
Here they are:
1. Start small
Developing new, healthy habits doesn’t have to be overwhelming. This is why I advise you to take things slow and start small. For example, you don’t have to go up and down a flight of stairs on your first try. Instead, you should just try taking a few baby steps at first and work your way up from there (however, do try to increase the duration of your movement every day to show progress).
2. Have clear goals in your mind
By setting clear, measurable, and attainable goals, you will find it much easier to gather the motivation and energy to achieve them. These goals should be focused on what you want to achieve on a daily basis and should ideally be written on a calendar, like taking 10 steps, running for 10 minutes, preparing healthy meals or meditating for an hour – basically anything that helps you create healthy habits.
3. Don’t fall into the ‘moral license’ trap
While quitting bad habits and developing good ones, people often make the mistake of falling into the trap of the dreaded “moral license,” a situation in which the person feels like they deserve a break or a reward for all the hard work they’ve done and the progress they’ve shown. I avoided meat all week, I deserve a hamburger! I ran for 20 minutes straight, I deserve to lie in bed all weekend! You should be aiming to avoid these thoughts at all costs and maintain consistency in your efforts.
4. Remember what you are struggling for
If you are faced with days when you feel like giving up on your efforts and break your routine, then remember the two things which are you struggling for: better health and a better life. Write it down in multiple places, including your journal, diary, your phone/laptop’s wallpaper…anything which you look at on a daily basis and get motivated.
To conclude…
Considering all of the habits that you need to develop and the tips to create them, one can safely conclude that it’s actually quite easy to change your lifestyle and get rid of pain! I hope that you find the courage and motivation to transform your life. Best of luck!
