Dealing with Chronic Pain in a Relationship

After a while some of the pain becomes “White Noise” and you learn to deal with it. I’ve been in chronic pain for over 8 years, my wife of 25 years is my champion and keeps me going, it’s much easier to deal with debilitating pain with a love one. Love and companionship is “Compromise “ you both must give and take as one.

Look up the Chronic Pain Spoon Theory. It's super helpful to me. And then, these a pain scale I use that describes the type of pain a 1 vs a 10 is. That's also helpful. And then, just remember, you're not making it up. This is real and it's so valid to get tired and be frustrated. I've had chronic pain since I was 7 years old. No one can tell you how your body is feeling except you!

I am new to it too, though I have had chronic pain for 31 years, but just in the last year it has been getting so much worse. I can no longer work from the pain, exhaustion and muscle weakness. I get half way through the day and need a nap or I feel awful. My husband just doesn't understand my limitations and most days I don't either.

It also helps for you and your spouse to remember that while you always do your best, some days your best is better than other days and that’s perfectly normal.

You need to communicate that your battery can now not hold as much juice. That you stop charging at 50% where other people’s capacity is at 100%. You can do the same things (maybe), but just not as intense or frequently because of this