What Distracts You From the Pain?

There are so many great coloring books out now! I will have to check out the Faber Castell pencils.

My husband is hooked now too!! If it hurts sitting or standing I just move about a bit. Maybe sitting on saddle chair too.

Enjoyable distractions. You all have great ideas. I would also add at home Yoga as a practice not a work out. I have a Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation professional who put together a 20 minute program for me. The mind and the body together is best. And I make it a morning ritual. Then I use several types of Medical Marijuana to stay under the pain that escalates during the day. I suffer from Chronic Myofasial Pain and Tiny fiber neuropathy with shooting electric shock pain and "needles" in arms and legs. Has anyone heard of benefits from bariatric chambers? My pain is at its worst when the barometer goes south and there is a low pressure weather system. I wish you all freedom from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Hi. Just to thank you all for your ideas. I prefer to isolate myself and take drugs. Doesn't seem like the best path after all. Maybe some of these will help.

TV, music, meditation (have app on my phone), my family and friends (the best), ice or heat, massage, therapist, acupuncture, many things can work. Bio feedback and Mindfulness classes

Mindfulness meditation helps. But, I hace had 2 surgeries for achalesia. POEM.and Fundoplasty. The.last has left me with continued chronic pain but als incessant intense long burps to relieve pressure. This makes it very difficult to control my breath as I was taught in my classes. I was also exposed to walking meditation. I do that when I can. I have difficulty reading because the pain distracts me. I have seen people posting hobbies to keep their mind off it. I cannot think of one. Not sure i could paint or color. Mayb someone has some other ideas on meditation. Seeing a pain clinic, pain psychologist and recently a psychiatrist to help deal with the anxiety
It took over 2 and a half years to diagnose the Achalesia and I thought the first surgery would cure it. No and neither has the second. The long term of it all ( nearly 4 yrs.), and lacking hope that further treatment will help is making it difficult to deal with the pain.
I apologize for rambling on, I would just like to get to the point where i could do some work from home to alleviate the extreme financial problems this has created. I could do some now- but cant find anything. The pain is really difficult when coupled with financial pressure like fear of losing our home.
I may try writing to distract me.

I find being out in nature is very calming. For those that can walk or walk sometimes - is one way to be out in nature. I find that just sitting in my backyard or on front porch works most of the time and I walk when I can (I have three kinds of Arthritis and other issues of mobility). I have various hobbies and some are more difficult to do at different times due to various health issues such as inflammatory flares, etc. But when you have various hobbies you can switch of to others. Sometimes just being focused on relaxing- a letting go rather than the movements of Yoga, Tai Chi. Each of us has to find what will work for us and experiment and give each new approach time to work.

@edieguinn ditto for me, only it is my wife who is a nurse!! If she can't see it then I am faking. My kids are more supportive. 19lin

I watch tv, if anything interesting is on, go on my laptop to read about stuff or listen to music. Talking to people helps if it is something stimulating to me which is hard to find others who are interested in the same things as I am. But when I have sciatic shooting pains nothing works. I just roll around on my bed and rub the area if I can reach it or do somethings that physical therapists have shown me although this does not work for long. After years of having these pains a retiring neurologists said to try muscle relaxants and they do help. Also sleeping if I can get to sleep, but that is really hard when I have shooting pain. I may try some of the things that people have listed here to see if it works. 19lin

Thank you very much. I try the same things They help some. I mnow how bad it can be, I am glad to have someone to talk to sometimes. But my wife works. Hope you have as little pain as possible