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How can I live well with chronic illness or pain? · Wellbeing Solutions - Ask A Counsellor

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  SPEAKER_00: Living well with chronic illness or pain starts with recognising how much of life it can affect, such as your mood, sleep, daily activities, relationships, and work can all be affected.
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  SPEAKER_00: And for many people, it starts to feel like it's taken over everything.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this is a very common experience, and it happens because so much of daily life ends up organized around the symptoms.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, picture your life as a pie chart.
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  SPEAKER_00: Chronic illness or pain can take up a very large slice, and living well means working on shrinking the slice that's about the pain and growing the other slices, such as time with people you care about, hobbies, rest, and the things that matter to you.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: While pain may be a part of your life, there are many other parts of life where changes can be made.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can start by asking yourself which area you would most like to give more room to.
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  SPEAKER_00: Then think about a recent time when things felt a little bit more manageable.
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  SPEAKER_00: What were you doing?
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  SPEAKER_00: Who was there and what helped?
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  SPEAKER_00: As those moments show you what's already working and you can build on them one step at a time.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, a practical way to support yourself with this is to pace yourself.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can spread your activity across the day and the week, break bigger tasks into smaller tasks, and plan rest before you need them.
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  SPEAKER_00: Set small specific goals that feel achievable on a bad day as well as a good one.
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  SPEAKER_00: Look after your sleep by keeping a regular routine where you can.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tell one or two people close to you what helps and what makes things harder so they know how to support you.
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  SPEAKER_00: And staying connected to people and activities you enjoy matters as well.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you need to seek extra help, you can speak to your GP and tell them you want to learn about how to self-manage your chronic illness or pain, and they can point you towards physiotherapists, pharmacists, social prescribers and other practitioners who can help you.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: If low mood, constant worry, or poor sleep are there as well, you can mention this too, as talking therapies can help.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now you can go back to the app's resources on living with chronic illness or pain for further support around this topic.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are thinking about harming yourself or feeling safe, then please seek urgent help by contacting your local emergency number or a crisis helpline.