Stress makes pain feel worse. Mindfulness might help to manage stress, but sometimes you also should take an honest look at the source of your negative stresses.

 

There are some positive stresses in life too. This might be what motivates us to get going in the morning and to finish what we start. Sometimes children bring ups and downs with stress, but overall, they are a positive.

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If you have a lot of stress, for example from not being able to do certain things for yourself, your family, or you are having money problems, there comes a time when you should think about what you can do to address the stress and make positive changes. There might not be easy solutions for everything but try talking with other people about your stressors with an intention to make changes to make things better.

 

Write down some of the ideas that come up as you brainstorm together.

 

Example:

Chuck was feeling guilty about not being able to go on a family outing to the zoo because his severe back pain and numbness in the legs made walking difficult. His wife suggested that they bring along a borrowed wheelchair and use it when needed. His wife was willing to push him if he felt too tired. This took away the barrier to his participation in the outing, and the associated feelings of guilt for letting the family down. Afterwards he reflected that he should have thought of that before. We don't always think of the possible options when feeling stressed.