Habits– we all have them. Where chronic illness is concerned, some can be good and others may be unhelpful. I like to take time out now and again to reflect on my habits. I think about which ones are serving me well and consider those that may be holding me back.
This is a very conscious process and, admittedly, it took time for me to bring my self-awareness towards my habits. For some time I did not realise that I did things habitually when I was not coping with my fibromyalgia symptoms. When you suffer from a pain condition such as fibromyalgia, it’s easy to develop habits that unfortunately work against you. It can be as simple as tensing up your muscles, altering your gait or focussing on negative thoughts due to your pain. The problem with these habits is that they can actually create more pain.
My bad habit is altering my breathing. If I reach the point where I can’t cope with my pain anymore my breathing becomes more rapid– I take short, sharp breaths and I occasionally even hold my breath for periods of time. It is my way of grinning and bearing it. However, from a biological perspective, this habit deprives my muscles of what they desperately need– oxygen– and this causes my muscles to go tense and rigid. This of course leads to a vicious cycle of more pain.
It took a comment from someone else for me to realise that I had this habit. I found it ironic that I had developed a coping mechanism that actually lead to more pain. However, once I became aware that I did this I was in a position to change my behaviour.
Breaking a habit is not easy but it is possible to do. It involves becoming aware of what the habit is, being conscious of when you are doing it, interrupting yourself and then replacing your bad habit with a good one. It can be an ongoing process but through time you will find you do less of your previous habit and more of the better one. If you are unsure of what you can do instead, start by thinking about what the opposite of your undesirable habit is. Or perhaps think about actions that will help to calm and relax you.
If I find myself breathing more rapidly than normal I simply stop what I am doing, close my eyes and spend a few minutes focussing on deep breathing. This helps to calm me down, it relaxes my muscles and ultimately helps me to feel better and more in control of the situation. It’s such a simple exercise to do but it has the complete opposite effect to my previous habit– it can actually help to reduce my pain.
Moreover, I have now introduced a few good habits to try and stop me from getting into a position where my old habit may creep back in. This includes following other relaxation techniques, such as guided meditation and yoga, which I try to do on a daily basis. I also try my best to pace my activities better so that I don’t experience a sudden increase in symptoms.
Becoming aware of my bad habits has empowered me to change aspects of my life that I was either unhappy with or that caused me to be in more pain. I believe it’s important to reflect on our habits from time to time and evaluate if there are any we could benefit from changing. Sometimes we may need a helping hand with this, like in my case above, as often we are unaware of the habits we develop. It is therefore useful to ask those who are closest to you as they can give a new perspective. Replacing any unhelpful habits with others that will serve us better can help us to improve our life chronic illness.
Photography credit: Julia Caesar
This post, written by me, was first published on ProHealth.com [20.08.15]
I also had to have someone else tell me about my bad habits when it came to my conditions. Mainly to do with Boom or Bust but I also sit in the same position for way too long and don’t recognise that the lack of movement is causing me more harm than good. Pain rehab taught me so much, eyes are completely open now.
Sarah x
That’s great you learned so much from the rehab program. Sometimes it does take someone else to make us aware of things we do that could be working against us.