In many homes, this time of year signifies holiday celebrations that evoke all kinds of emotions from stress to joy and everything in between. There’s family to see, traditions to uphold, baking, shopping, traveling, and much, much more! You may start to wonder or worry that your chronic pain won’t allow you to enjoy it all.

While chronic pain doesn’t take vacations or celebrate holidays, we realize that YOU do. That’s why your favorite Benbrook pain management team (clinics also in Bedford & Lewisville TX) put together this quick guide to managing your pain during the holidays. We hope you’ll see that there are plenty of ways to keep your symptoms from stealing your holiday joy!

 

Take COVID-19 Precautions

First and foremost, we want to encourage you to exercise extra caution to safeguard yourself from COVID-19 and other seasonal viruses or flues. We realize that even the thought of COVID-19 making an appearance at your holiday event may add a level of stress to the festivities. One way to diffuse this stress is to wear a protective mask and ask others to do the same, especially if family or friends are coming in from out of town.

You may also find that COVID concerns result in holiday events being canceled or rescheduled, which could leave you feeling an extra degree of loneliness, anxiety or depression. Be sure to keep close tabs on your emotional wellbeing and, if you notice yourself struggling, take steps to get help. We recommend trying one or more of the following:

• Have a phone or video chat with a close friend
• Journal about what you’re feeling
• Schedule a virtual counseling session
• Pick a favorite nostalgic holiday movie and organize a virtual watch party

 

Make Practical Travel Plans

Get in touch with your loved ones early to gather an idea of where and when the celebrations will be happening. The more time you have to make your travel plans, the more comfortable they can be. If you are flying to your destination, consider:

• Booking an aisle seat so that you can have the freedom to get up or stretch out as needed
• Stay hydrated
• Find a non-stop route to keep your stress and walking low
• Ask for early boarding privileges when you check-in at your gate (or consider boarding last so you have more time to stretch your legs before boarding)
• Bring creature comforts like a blanket and travel pillow

Driving can be a welcomed travel alternative because it allows you to (literally and metaphorically) be in the driver’s seat. If you want to stop every hour to recombobulate, you can do that! If you’re driving, don’t forget to:

• Stay hydrated
• Plan ahead for stops at regular intervals to get out, stretch, and use the bathroom
• Travel with a partner, if possible, to allow for shared driving responsibilities
• Bring healthy snacks
• Check on weather and road conditions for your destination ahead of time
• Bring your favorite pillow and a lap blanket

 

Take Time for Self-Care

Don’t let your well-curated routine get completely steamrolled by the busyness of the holidays. Plan ahead to ensure that you can make time to do the things that keep you feeling balanced and comfortable. And give yourself permission to change your plans if you start to feel your pain or stress levels creep up.

Consider booking yourself a massage the week before any major traveling or holiday plans as well as another the week after everything has wrapped up. You should also make sure that any therapeutic exercises your doctor prescribed make it into each day. Finally, consider building in an afternoon or morning for downtime or a quick catnap if you need it.

 

Establish Your Priorities

As you well know, pain flare-ups can be unpredictable. That being the case, it’s important that you identify which holiday events are at the top of your “must do” list. If it helps, you can even write out all the plans you anticipate happening over the holidays and highlighting the ones that are the most important to you. Ask yourself, “If I could only make it to one event per day, which one would I not want to miss?” Don’t forget to take into account:

• Family you rarely see
• Traditions you only do during this time of year
• Time of day that your energy level tends to be higher
• Events you can modify so that you can still enjoy them comfortably (ie: instead of a family walk, can you do a family board game?)

 

Consult Your Care Team

Consider making an appointment with a member of your care team a week or two before your major holiday plans begin. Get a baseline for how your condition is at that point and express any concerns you might have for the upcoming events. It would also be wise to ask your pain doctor if they have any other recommendations specific to your condition that would keep you safe from COVID-19.

If you don’t already have a pain management team that you love working with, our Benbrook doctors accepting new patients (as well as at our Bedford & Lewisville clinics) would love to meet with you.

 

Ask for Help

It sounds simple but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Asking for help is often one of the most challenging things a person does. But it definitely pays off in the long run. Don’t overcomplicate it; It can be as straightforward as:

• Delegating wherever you can
• Asking a friend or family to drive you to events or be willing to drive you home early if need be
• Asking for support with sticking to your boundaries
• Making meals potluck style rather than taking it all on yourself
• Asking a friend or family member to come early or stay late to help you clean

 

Benbrook Pain Management

No matter what day it is – a holiday or just a Monday – there are things you can do to keep your chronic pain from calling the shots. At Comprehensive Pain Institute, we make it a priority to keep you in the driver’s seat of your life. Get in touch today to schedule an appointment; we have locations in Lewisville, Bedford and Benbrook, Texas.

Get in touch with us by calling 817-737-3331

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute medical advice, nor does reading or accessing this information create a patient-provider relationship.  Comments that you post will be shared with all visitors to this page. All comments are not governed by HIPAA and you should not post any private health information.