Living with chronic pain presents ongoing physical and emotional challenges, but cultivating resilience can help people regain control and find fulfillment for a brighter, more balanced future.
Resilience is the process of adapting to difficult life experiences through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment, according to the American Psychological Association. The organization says that resilience is achieved by how someone views and engages with the world, the quality of social resources, and coping strategies.
“Resilient is such a good word to describe the bleeding disorders population. When I talk about it in clinic, patients typically don’t see themselves in such a way, just more or less that they do what they’ve got to do,” says Kelsee Heimbecker, MSW, a social worker in the Lehigh Valley Hospital Hemophilia Treatment Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“The fact that our patients have aches and pains pretty much on a daily basis, and then couple that with raising a family, going to work, staying active, etc.,” she says, “all of those things are admirable to me, and I feel it is important as their social worker to let them know.”
Recognizing the ways that you are resilient is a great approach to developing mental fortitude in the face of chronic pain. Here are a few more practical tips and strategies.
1. Nurture a Strong Support System
Life’s difficulties — whether mental or physical — are made harder when navigating them on your own. Thankfully, you don’t have to go it alone. Surround yourself with people to support you.
“Lean on your supports such as family, friends, co-workers, and of course your hemophilia treatment center team,” Heimbecker says. “We understand that the pain may never completely go away, but letting your team know when you are having pain can help us work with you in developing a better treatment plan.”
Beyond your friends, family, and HTC team, look for help from support groups, which are full of people who understand what you’re going through, and provide a forum for sharing resources and concerns. “Having the ability to vent in a safe space is typically very helpful,” Heimbecker says. “Better to let your feelings out than suppress them.”
2. Embrace Mindfulness
Mindfulness is often associated with mental health, but research shows that the practice can be effective for dealing with physical pain, too, specifically by improving the psychological experience of pain.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR, can help you to manage stress, change your relationship to pain, and be more resilient. According to the University of Minnesota, mindfulness can help people increase acceptance of unpleasant situations, reduce pain intensity, induce relaxation, and enhance self-compassion.
“It’s important for everyone, not just bleeding disorders patients, to practice self-compassion and be mindful of taking things one day at a time. A daily routine involving healthy habits such as exercise, attending therapy, or journaling could help keep you on track,” Heimbecker says.
“A simple breathing exercise can also be beneficial to ground yourself in stressful situations such as breakthrough bleeds or pain,” she adds.
3. Reframe Negative Thoughts
Negative thoughts are a part of life, whether you have pain or not, writes physical therapist Joe Tatta in Psychology Today. When pain is involved, he notes, it creates a downward spiral of “pain catastrophizing,” which can make pain feel worse and lead to helplessness.
Instead, try to recognize your thoughts about pain without judgment, a process called cognitive defusion. “This means thoughts about pain don’t have to take the wheel and control your life,” he writes.
Positive self-talk is another method for taming negative thoughts. Tatta offers three positive self-talk statements related to pain: “I am gaining knowledge to change my pain.” “I might still have some pain, but I am proud of how far I have come.” “Even though the pain isn’t gone, I learned a lot about myself and am rebuilding my resilience.”
Heimbecker adds some tips from her experience consulting people with bleeding disorders. “Reframing one’s thoughts to reflect a positive mindset is an important tool,” she says. “If you have a hobby that you enjoy, now is likely the best time to lean into it. Give yourself some grace and some space to know that this too shall pass, in any situation. Journaling or doing art to get that frustration or sadness out may be a beneficial coping technique for you to take the edge off.”