Five Tips to Reframe

 It is never easy to reframe your experience of pain. Arthritis can be extremely debilitating if you habitually judge it to be negative. However, when you reframe your experience of pain from something negative to something that you will learn to deal with, your discomfort will lessen.

Most arthritis sufferers focus on their pain constantly. We are almost defined by it because we habitually focus on pain all the time. But we are not our pain. It is only a small part of our experience of living with arthritis. We have to realize that our identity is not dependent on it. Instead, we should become aware of our discomfort as a signal from our body and look at it with compassion instead of fear.

In addition, pain is not as solid and continuous as we seem to believe. You can ascertain this for yourself by just becoming more aware of it. But instead of being scared of it, when you feel a sharp sensation, simply become aware of it as if you're observing it from a distance. Don't put any emotion into it. Instead, just neutrally observe your discomfort.

Also, sometimes as you become aware of the pain, it lessens in intensity. Becoming aware of the pain and sending it compassion can help you to feel less of it. Further, when we do this, the intensity of the pain will usually lessen or even dissolve. You should also try to relax to lessen its impact. I know this sounds counterintuitive. We are conditioned to always be afraid of pain from the time we are young. But pain isn't necessarily all negative. It can actually give us a lot of information about how we are doing on a physical level.

Therefore, we should develop a loving approach towards our body and do something to soothe ourselves when we feel pain.

Here are a few ways to reframe your experience of pain:

• Don't engage in negative self-talk about your discomfort. For instance, don't keep telling yourself over and over that you feel awful. This can be a form of brainwashing. Instead, distract yourself from the pain as much as possible and take steps to cope with it.

• Proactively deal with your pain by taking Tylenol, lying down before you become too achy and tired. If you feel a lot of pain, take steps to engage in extreme self-care. Pain is your body telling you that something is wrong. So use it as a signal to take extra care of yourself.

• Honor your body and sensations by neutrally listening to them. If you are not feeling well, then you will probably be feeling more pain. So take the time to just relax. Rest will relax tense muscles and elevate your mood. Take a warm shower or bath.

• If you are having an especially hard day, instead of focusing on your pain all the time, do something that you truly enjoy. You may want to spend time in nature. Even if you don't feel like going outside, try and get out anyway. It will help you immensely.

• Regard pain as a signal instead of a point of misery. Don't hate and fear it, but plan to deal with it lovingly and compassionately. As already mentioned, pain can give you a lot of information. So, treat it as an informational system.

By taking these steps, you will be accepting your pain much better than you have in the past. And by reframing it in this way, you will be feeling a lot less stressed and much happier. And this is important if you have ongoing discomfort as an arthritis sufferer.