Now that you have made it through the storm caused by the pain flare there are a couple of important steps to take.
A) Assess
B) Learn
C) Plan
Now that you are feeling a bit better and have a bit more clarity, it's time to review and create so when the next time comes around you can tackle it with confidence and know-how.
Assess - This is a great opportunity to look at what happened. If you have ever seen an image of an iceberg in it's full form you will notice that there is always a larger mass underwater than there is above the water. As applied to assessing your pain flare, we typically only 'see' what's on the surface. This may be an opportunity to look a little deeper and observe what may have contributed to the flare up. Is it possible that you did too much that day? Was it from a stressfull situation at work that needs to be addressed? Was it a comment from a loved one that set things off? Was it a combination of disrupted sleep and a stressful day? There are so many possibilities to explore.
Learn - Mistakes are meant for learning, not repeating. What would you do differently next time before the flare up occurred. Is there anything you would do differently during the flare up?
Plan - Having a plan in place to help you through your next flare up is a great proactive approach to managing your pain. More importantly it is setting you up to be more in the drivers seat next time a pain storm approaches. Any bit of control we can muster up the better! There are some key pieces to a pain flare strategy. Here we break it down step by step.
Step one: Words matter! Write down some positive words/phrases that you can tell yourself next time a pain flare up occurs. Words that will help you stay positive and realistic about the pain. Words that will help encourage the brain to reframe the situation. It may also be helpful to include family in this conversation so that they may also know which words will help you the most (and maybe even the least).
Step two: brainstorm self soothing techniques (aka your bag of tricks) that you can call upon when the waters get rough. What worked last time or the time before that? What are your 'go-to's'? What are some new ones you haven't yet tried?
Step three: Brainstorm all the things that give you strength and write them down so that you can surround yourself when the next storm arrives. Is it reassurance from family members, if so, communicate it with them that they are part of your flare up strategy. What strengths can you draw upon from the last time you got through a difficult episode? Once you have decided on those strengths, give them a personna or associate them with an animal. I have a client who 'calls upon' her inner 'momma bear' that comes out when necessary to battle the pain with strength, wisdom and a nurturing spirit.
Step four: Once you have brainstormed all of the above. Create a clear map that will help you navigate the storm on a piece of paper or in a journal. Keep your strategy with you in your wallet or car or posted on the fridge. Share it with your 'team' (loved ones, family members, therapists, etc) so that they will also be informed as to how to best help.