When you’re hurting, nothing else matters but getting rid of the pain. This applies to all kinds of hurt, whether it’s physical or mental.
No matter what’s causing the feelings, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else while your body is suffering.
If the problem is physical, you can try hot and cold packs, pain relievers, or natural treatments like Veriheal’s Green Dragon tincture. These methods help relieve acute symptoms but aren’t always sustainable 24 hours a day or long-term.
Unfortunately, when the pain is ongoing or becomes chronic, you must find ways to distract yourself from it. If you don’t, you risk damaging your personal and professional life.
When the “show must go on,” but the pain is in the way of your performance, try these three tips and tricks to distract your mind from thinking about the aches and throbs.
1. Go Outside
There’s something about fresh air and the beauty of nature that refreshes our minds and bodies. If you can find a place to go where the city’s sounds and daily life’s stresses are muted, your pain slowly ebbs, too.
Walking in nature, whether along the stretches of a sandy beach or through a path in the woods, has substantial effects on the body. You’re burning calories and working muscles, getting the Vitamin D your body needs, and reducing your risk of conditions like diabetes and cardiac disease.
At the same time, unless the movement makes the pain worse, you’ll be distracted from your problems. Walking with someone you care about increases the benefits of being in nature. If movement causes too much pain, find a place to rest, but get outside for at least half an hour a day.
2. Find Something Funny
You’ve heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” The idea behind this phrase has been around for centuries in various contexts, but its foundation is irrefutable. When you’re having fun, everything in your body feels better.
Physiological reasons for this effect make laughter a science-backed treatment for pain. For instance, laughing elevates a person’s pain threshold. It lowers your blood pressure and glucose levels, aids in cancer recovery and prevention by increasing the natural killer cells, and improves your immune system.
In the brain, laughter products endorphins with euphoric effects and calming properties, making it effective against stress and anxiety.
Is aging a concern? Happier people who laugh a lot are linked to lower levels of amyloid plaque and tau tangles, both associated with aging. Humor increases a person’s ability to handle pain and reduce negative emotions.
When you’re hurting, the last thing you might think you need is something funny. But it could very well be exactly what makes the pain go away for a while.
3. Make Physical Contact With Someone
Touch is a key component in overall satisfaction and happiness. Studies have repeatedly shown that petting an animal or handshake or hug with another person increases the release of oxytocin (the love hormone).
Oxytocin helps us bond with others. It can be released through exercise or music, but the easiest and fastest method is simply an act of touch.
Learning how to engage in positive touch early leads to better overall wellness and trust. People who receive healthy touch frequently are less likely to feel depressed.
This touch doesn’t have to be human-to-human, although that is the best method. Animals offer comfort and oxytocin release, too. Research shows that pets are an effective way to self-manage chronic pain through distraction. Pet owners also tend to have more physical activity when they take care of their animals.
Because of this link, many experts suggest that those who suffer from mental health disorders or loneliness should own a pet. The responsibilities involved in having an animal like a cat or dog boost your sense of purpose, and companionship reduces your sense of isolation.
Conclusion
Finding ways to distract ourselves from pain often becomes a part of life for many of us. But the good news is that many of the methods you can use to get the job done go hand-in-hand with things that make you happy, too.
Spend time in nature, hang out with people you love, laugh a lot, and get plenty of human and/or animal touch. You may still feel the pain, but it won’t be as sharp, and you’ll be enjoying life even through your suffering.
