RazzWorks

For anyone living with chronic pain or illness feeling productive can be more than difficult. Most days it’s downright impossible. I’ve had chronic back and leg pain for almost 12 years now and fibromyalgia since about 1995.

As my condition deteriorated I found myself less and less able to do all the things I used to do with ease. Learning to live with my limitations and still feel useful and productive has been a long slow process that I still work on steadily. I’ll share what I learned here so maybe you won’t go through the years of feeling useless like I did.

Expectations – Adjust them

The first thing you need to understand is that you can’t do what you used to do. At least not in the same way. You need to adjust your expectations of yourself and accept your new normal. Though it’s first on my list it may be one of the hardest changes to make.

I used to be a busy, productive person. Your typical type A personality. I took care of my home and my family, worked a full-time job, and did volunteer work. I had friends I spent time with and lots of interests and hobbies to fill any spare time.

In 2010 that changed dramatically when I injured my back. I already had fibromyalgia but had learned to live with it and still keep busy. The back injury was so much worse. For 2 months I could barely get out of bed. When I started to get better I tried to live my old life. It didn’t work out.

I quickly discovered there were many things I just couldn’t do and others that took much longer. I had to accept that I had limitations now and that was not an easy thing for me. Over time I accepted my new normal and started to look at life differently.

Pacing & Breaks – Do it

Never had I needed to pace myself before. Now it was the only way to get anything done. My chronic pain was always there but I found if I worked in short spurts I could prevent it from getting too much worse. I had to take short breaks to lay down as that was the only way I could get any relief.

I read about pacing somewhere and it is recommended to only work until your pain level increases by 2 points on the 10-point scale. So if I started working at a pain level of 4 I could work until it got to 6 then I had to stop or risk a major flare-up of pain that could take days to recover from. Often this meant I only had 5-10 minutes where I could do some simple task.

It wasn’t easy to stop sometimes. I had to plan ahead if I was trying to prepare a meal so I had times when I could stop for a few minutes and lay down to rest my back. I learned to turn down the burner and rest. Making simpler meals helped, something I could prep and just put in the oven, crockpot, or air fryer.

With different types of pain or other limitations, your pacing may look different. Basically, you just need to remember to stop and take breaks as often as you need to. Have a comfortable spot set up where you can chill for a while and get some relief. Break your work up into smaller chunks and remember that every chunk you get done gets the job that much closer to completion.

For example, I found sweeping the floor very hard on my back. I would imagine lines on my floor that divided the room into sections. Then I would sweep just one section and take a break.

It felt strange at first as I felt weak and useless, even berating myself for being so pitiful. I knew I had to change that thinking. Many times I cycled through depression and acceptance over the last 12 years. Luckily Razz is very supportive and encouraging. Also, he was taking over all the heavier jobs that I just couldn’t manage.

Workload – Share it

With a helpmate by my side, I was able to turn over certain jobs to him and do those jobs that I was more able to. If you don’t have someone to share the workload with you will need to work harder at pacing and taking breaks. You may also find different tools or aids that can help.

In the kitchen, you may need to sit at the table to do meal prep and use a tall stool to sit on at the stove. For picking up around the house a grabber tool can be handy if you have trouble bending over. There are many different tools available. A quick search on Amazon under ‘Disability aids’ should give you some ideas.

Think of tasks that you CAN do and work on those. Things like paperwork, making appointments, and handling phone calls are usually easy enough. I feed my cat and clean her litterbox as well as change bed sheets and clean the toilet. These are just a few examples of things that help me feel like I’m contributing. Bedsheets is a tough one but I’m not willing to give it up (yet). If you can’t do anything that’s ok too. You are enough just as you are! I’ve had many, many days where I wasn’t one bit productive.

Triggers – Avoid them

If you have been living with chronic pain and/or illness for some time you are probably aware of some triggers; motions, activities, or even a time of day that makes your condition worse. By identifying these triggers, you can work in such a way as to avoid them or at least be aware and plan these jobs when you know you’ll have plenty of time to rest and take care of yourself afterward. There is no shame in asking for help either. Maybe a friend or family member would be willing to help with big jobs you can’t manage on your own.

For myself, I know that any type of twisting will aggravate my back pain. When I finally realized and accepted this I knew sweeping and mopping were off my chore list and added to Razz’s. I also can’t stand up for more than a couple of minutes before pain in my back, hips, and knees force me onto the couch. This meant there were many things I had to be careful about. Cooking that required constant tending was out as well as almost anything in the evenings when my pain was always at its worst.

Healthy Habits – Cultivate them

There are things we can do to keep ourselves in optimal health so our condition won’t be any worse and we can do our best to be productive. To the best of your ability, you should move frequently. I know I spend a lot of time laying on the couch but I make sure I get up and walk around the house or go outside at least once per hour. Maybe I should do it more often but this is what I can manage right now.

With that said you should also try to get outside into the fresh air and sun as often as possible. Not only do we need the vitamin D from the sun but being outside can be destressing and it offers a change of scenery and a distraction from the work we are looking at that needs doing indoors.

It is also important to stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water. I keep a water bottle beside me at all times as well as one beside my bed. Staying hydrated is important for both our body and our brain and will help you to be as productive as you can be.

Good food is very important too. Depending on your condition there may be certain foods that are triggers for you but any junk food or highly processed foods aren’t going to do you any good. Eating a balanced diet will help you to always feel your best.

Stress – Manage it

Stress can be a big problem for those living with chronic pain or illness. The changes to your life, frequent doctor appointments, daily medication, and other treatments all make our lives so different from what we had hoped for. This can, and often does, lead to depression. Be sure to talk to your doctor if you think you might be depressed as there are many good treatments and medications available.

There are a couple of ideas that can help with stress. First, try to get enough sleep. Being over-tired makes our emotions fragile and we may feel worse mentally as well as physically.

Next, try to connect with others with chronic pain and/or illness. Though getting out socially is good there are also many groups online on most social platforms. Join a group or two and don’t be afraid to quit and join others until you find one that feels like a good fit. Besides the benefit of social interaction, you will also find that others will have great tips and tricks for coping with being disabled. It’s comforting just to know that you aren’t the only one who’s struggling with this.

I still struggle to feel productive some days. I will never be able to work as much as, or at the pace that I did, in the past. However, there are more good days than bad and I am blessed with a partner who understands and supports me. I wish the same for everyone living with disabilities.

I’d love to hear from others about how you deal with feeling productive despite your limitations. For me, working on this blog has helped tremendously as I now have something to do that feels meaningful. I hope that you found something useful in what I wrote.

Roze