Dealing with pain as a mother can be overwhelming as you already have a full checklist of things to handle. Pain can impact your productivity along with the way that you are parenting your children. Minimizing pain or finding the exact source is going to be the first step. Far too many people deal with unnecessary pain on a daily basis that could be treated medically. Nagging old injuries can be a source of pain that might be able to be solved through physical rehab. Other times, surgery is the best option as medical technology has advanced in a massive way over the last few decades. Below are what you should and shouldn’t do as a mother experiencing pain.
Heading To A Pain Specialist
Heading to a pain specialist might require a referral from your primary care physician to be covered by insurance. Getting this referral is so important as your primary care doctor might know exactly what specialist you should see. The source of your pain might be obvious to a specialist but might elude your doctor. Nerve pain is some of the most severe and requires methods that only specific doctors are experts in. Dr. Katinka at the Spero Clinic in Arkansas specifically treats nerve pain in a variety of ways. The clinic can be found along with conditions treated at TheSperoClinic.com. Be aware that entering a program could take months before you find the full relief that you seek.
Be Realistic About Your Daily Agenda
The daily agenda that you have might need to be adjusted due to your pain levels. Parents never seem to have a free moment during certain times of the year. Work or taking kids to extracurricular activities can fill a full day easily without a single hour to relax. Mental health can suffer when stress levels get too high, and a person gets overwhelmed. Feeling constantly overwhelmed or anxious is pain that comes in a different form but can be debilitating as well.
A spouse can help take the pressure off of you while you are in pain. You might have to switch responsibilities or chores for a period of time. Your family, along with your job, should be your focus besides finding a remedy for the pain that you are in.
Don’t Turn To Alcohol To Numb Yourself
Alcohol is a solution for pain in some cases and has been used as a medical anesthetic in the past to numb pain. You do not want nagging pain to be the trigger that leads you to start abusing alcohol. Alcohol can actually delay the healing process for injuries, and most people don’t want to do physical therapy with a hangover. The mental effects of drinking daily have been well-documented, as the substance can slowly ruin the brain. Painkillers can also be a slippery slope, so trying to correct the source of your pain should be your main effort.
Don’t Discount The Psychological Impacts Of Pain
Constant pain can lead to mothers lashing out at their families as pain not only increases blood pressure but can impact stress. A failure to sleep due to pain can wreak havoc on the mental health of a mother that might not sleep enough as it is. Seeking mental health counseling can be so important for those with chronic pain. Support groups are also available online if you feel uncomfortable heading to a group that meets in person. Depression can accompany chronic pain, so seeing a therapist might be necessary long-term.
Be Aware Your Parenting Will Be Impacted By The Pain
The pain that you are suffering might be able to be hidden for periods of time. Ignoring the pain entirely for the whole day simply is not possible in most situations. Bitterness can start to form in the mind of a person suffering, as not everyone has to suffer with immense amounts of pain daily. You do not want to take the pain you are in out on your family in the slightest. You also might not be able to play with children like you would be able to. Being honest with the kids about why you cannot play is important so they do not feel like they have done something wrong.
Living with pain as a mother can be frustrating, but you have overcome this. Find a solution to the pain that you are in and exhaust all avenues to do so. Your quality-of-life decreases living in pain which is not something that you should just accept.