Hobbies That Help Me Cope With Chronic Pain
Before I was diagnosed with New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH), I did not have a variety of hobbies I enjoyed. My life consisted of going to school, playing tennis 6 days a week, and hanging out with my friends. After my diagnosis of NDPH, I could not play tennis, was having difficulty going to school, and could not see my friends. I had trouble adjusting to this new normal of constantly being in pain. For most of my life all of my hobbies involved high intensity activity like tennis or exercise, and I could not physically do that because of my headache. For the first few months I felt down, exhausted, and did not know what to do with my time.
After 18 months of having a persistent headache, I started to branch out and find some new hobbies. Fast forward to having NDPH for 3.5 years and I have found a variety of hobbies that are low intensity and that I can do without increasing my pain. Here are three activities that help me cope with chronic pain!
1. Cooking
I was never really into cooking before I had NDPH. After my diagnosis, I had so much time on my hands and did not know a relaxing activity I could do. My parents ordered this meal program called Blue Apron which sent two different meal packages every week. These meal packages came with all the ingredients and directions to make them. They were very simple and taught me a lot about cooking. Fast forward to the present time and I really enjoy cooking; one of my favorite activities to do, especially in the fall and winter, is to look up recipes and try them at home. I like to find my recipes from cooking blogs and Pinterest, and my favorite recipe I have been making this fall is pumpkin bread!
2. Yoga
Since I have always enjoyed leading an active lifestyle, I had a hard time adjusting when I could not physically exercise due to my headache. My parents encouraged me to try yoga, and I was hesitant at first. I always thought yoga was boring and slow, and I did not think I would like it. I was then introduced to vinyasa yoga, which is a type of yoga that combines deep breathing with faster movement. It was definitely a challenge the first time I went, but I really enjoyed it. Yoga makes me feel relaxed and is a form of exercise that is low intensity. Now, I like to do yoga at least once a week and have gotten much better over the past 2 years.
3. Blogging
After completing the program at Cleveland Clinic, I wanted to start a website that would help other kids cope with chronic pain. Before going to Cleveland clinic, I felt alone and that I was the only person who suffered from a constant headache. It can be mentally draining to have an invisible illness as people do not know why you are acting differently and do not go to school anymore. After going to the pain rehab program, I realized that I’m not the only kid who suffers from chronic pain. I wanted to create a website where I share my story so kids with chronic pain know that they are not alone. I also wanted to share how I cope with pain and what has helped me in the past. It took over two years to complete editing the website and get everything together, and it finally went live in June 2020. I started writing blog posts about how I cope with pain, my daily struggles with pain, and my favorite hobbies that range from cooking to exercise. Blogging has been a significant factor that helps me cope as I know that I can make a difference by sharing my story.
Categories: Blog
