What if someone suffering with chronic pain could seek guidance and natural options to care for their health and wellness, BEFORE they have to resort to surgical options?

What if they hired a coach to improve their wellbeing and their “dealing with chronic pain” skills, the way others hire coaches to improve their soccer skills? 

What if they seeked support from a trained, empathetic health professional, who can accompany them through the ups and downs of chronic illness, hold their hands in hard times and guide them through the fog of medical errance while understanding and respecting what they are going through?

 

Chronic pain is so much more than physical pain

Chronic conditions and chronic pain affect us on a deep level. Dealing with such conditions is difficult mentally AND physically. It cuts you out from social life, challenges dynamics at home, alters your perceived personality, tastes and lifestyle, diminishes your performance at work, and deeply affects your sense of self and self-confidence. All-in-all, it touches you at your core.

It is easy to feel let down and to reach a point of what I call “medical burnout” —where keeping up with your medical duties and being your own health advocate while at the same time trying to keep up with an active life, is just too heavy for your own shoulders. One may then wish to seek a specialised, trained professional to accompany and support them on their long journey towards better health and a better life quality.

 

 

20 ways health coaching can help a person with chronic pain

 

MENTAL HEALTH & SUPPORT

  • Provide an empathetic ear, an open-minded and non-judgemental space to shelter, and unfailing support when you feel overwhelmed or alone;
  • Help you find appropriate care: depending on your health priorities, he can help you define which professional is most appropriate to deal with that issue, or even find a particular one in your area through their network;
  • Help you advocate for your health to your healthcare providers, insurance, friends and family: this can be just by helping you understand what are your rights, or how to express your pain levels, which words to use so that experts “hear” you, or work on self-confidence so you dare to speak up for yourself (self-advocacy). Also, he can help you improve your communication skills so that you feel better supported and understood by your entourage;
  • Help you build a lifestyle that fits your needs and personality;
  • Help you discover how to use your talents and strengths;
  • Help you ditch shame and guilt.

 

BURNOUT & OVERWHELM

  • Help you find ways to organise your multidisciplinary care and keep track of your personal healthcare information so that you are able to share updated, accurate information with your care team and improve the quality of your care;
  • Provide support, accountability and help you set achievable goals to follow any dietary plan (of your choice or prescribed by experts). Then provide pertinent sources for information, meal ideas or recipes;
  • Help you keep track of medication/supplement intake: setup a daily schedule for prescribed medicine and supplements in order to allow you to live your daily life without thinking about it all the time, while still complying with treatment;
  • Help you setup a daily/weekly/monthly fitness/activity routine and provide accountability and support as you reach for it;
  • Help you build the professional life you want.

 

GUIDANCE & TREATMENT

  • Provide psycho-education or reliable sources of information related to health, nutrition, fitness, therapeutic options or body systems as appropriate (ie: the gut-brain axis, polyvagal theory, the CNS, etc.) ;
  • Help you follow your doctors orders by creating new life habits and routines that support them;
  • Provide or guide you towards pertinent nutritional education and information on what foods and nutrients support your health and particular diagnosis, and which ones do not;
  • Educate you on different types of physical exercises and their benefits and disadvantages.

 

PAIN MANAGEMENT

  • Guide you towards or teach you mindfulness techniques that ease pain: relaxation, deep belly breathing, heart coherence, meditation, visualisation, etc. ;
  • Help you recognise and list your personal pain triggers. Then brainstorm strategies to reduce or replace them;
  • Help you find, recognise and list pain-relieving habits and tools that may help you ease your pain. Then brainstorm strategies to introduce them to your daily routine;
  • Help you recognise signs and keep track of any food sensitivity or allergy to prepare for diagnosis by an expert;
  • Help you define and find fitness exercises and health routines that work for you, based on your strengths, personal preferences and comfort levels.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Living with chronic pain is hard! And you do not have to do it alone. Loneliness just makes pain feel worse. 

With the help and support of a trained professional, you can learn to live better with pain, reduce flair-ups, and retake control of your life and health.

It’s time you find the help and unconditional support you and your loved ones deserve.

 

The secret of a life worth living is in every smile, every open hand, every healing touch, every loving connection.

Ready to change your life ?

Take back the control of your life, today!