"Strategies to Triumph Through a Tough Day and Come Out Stronger"

So far my blogs have touched on physical pain, mental anguish, and addiction. The chances are you face at least one of these on a daily basis. How do you get through the day? Below I will discuss the strategies I employ to get through the, day but also how I still enjoy life.

Dealing with physical pain on a daily basis is a mindset. There is nothing that is going to completely take away the physical pain I experience every time I get out of bed. But I cannot give into the pain. If I let the pain win then I would be stuck inside on a couch all day, which would in turn damage my mental health. I use willpower to overcome my pain because I refuse to let it win. If you look at the pain as a challenge, I believe you have a better chance of overcoming the pain. Everyone likes to win, be it a competition or even just a family board game. I take the mindset with the pain. I want to win. I envision the pain as a ruthless enemy that wants to take me down. I battle back by getting up each day, acknowledging the pain and proceeding on. A good deal of this attitude comes from my childhood, where my parents did not let me give in to the pain either. They didn’t let me lay around all day after school or on the weekends. I still played sports and exercised daily. While not everyone may have that base to build on in adulthood and some may be battling daily pain for the first time, it is a good mindset to have. Acknowledge the pain (i.e. know its there and be aware) but also try to fight against the pain. The amount of joy you will feel by not letting the pain win is unmeasurable. Believe me your entire outlook on life will change. 

I try not to take pain medicine for a few reasons (i.e. addiction possibilities and other side effects). However, there is nothing wrong in doing so if you need a bit of assistance in fighting against the pain. Think of it as a teammate in the fight. But the main fighter is you! Use other people as motivation. While you may not know whether they are battling pain, you are, and you are still going about your day living life to the fullest. That should make you proud and give you confidence! 

Now another type of pain I and many others face on a daily basis is pain between the ears. Be it anxiety, depression, OCD, etc. mental pain is just, if not more debilitating than physical pain. I struggle heavily with OCD and anxiety. For example, I am writing this having just returned from a Gamblers Anonymous meeting (discussed a bit in a previous blog). Last night while trying to fall asleep I was so anxious about what I might share at the meeting that I was tossing and turning. I have always been socially anxious to the point of wanting to stay home all the time. I am always afraid people will judge me and just generally nervous about what may happen today or even two weeks from now. 

For me, battling the mental pain has been more difficult than the physical pain. But again as I have learned in Gamblers Anonymous it is paramount to take everything one day at a time. I can only control my actions and reactions. If I take things one day or even one hour at a time it makes everything more manageable. However, those anxious feelings still rear their ugly head often. I have found breathing techniques help a lot. If I control my breathing, everything tends to slow down and I feel more in control. I also try to tell myself, this is a long life and only I control how I live. You need to believe in yourself! We are all stronger than we think we are and once we realize this we can fight against anxiety and win. 

While I strongly believe I will never not have some anxiety, I do believe prayer or meditation can help. I try to take a few minutes before embarking on a trip (i.e. to the grocery store) to realize that only I control my actions and other people really do not care that much about me. Once you realize that others truly don’t care (and if they do that is their problem) the anxiety tends to lessen. Remember to identify the anxiety and if it helps plan out your trips. Finally, I handle anxiety about the future, finances, family issues etc. (we can talk more about these individually in future blogs) much in the same way. I take it one day at a time and just take the issues head on as they come. You can only do so much in one day or one hour so just breathe and handle the issues in the best way you know how. 

OK I have rambled on long enough. How do you get through the day? Are there any tactics you have found successful? Please share below. 

P.S. - The Forum is now live! You can create a profile (anonymously if needed of course) and start a topic of you choosing! I will try to keep the discussion going over there as well!