Managing Our Expectations and Pacing Ourselves

In this week’s episode Shelly talks about an important piece of mindful pain management: pacing and how to manage our expectations about our goals and productivity. Pacing is all about managing our activity level and energy output in order to maintain a healthy baseline of pain.

Just like with all aspects of mindful pain management, effectively pacing and managing expectations requires you to increase your self-awareness and personal connection to both mind and body. There are studies that show that serious issues can arise in the mind and body from overactivity and even underactivity. When we take time to rest we feel like we aren't getting enough done, but when we push through the pain and work even harder, our bodies pay for it in flare-ups.

So why can it be such a challenge to pace ourselves to avoid burnout and flare-ups? Pacing is all about doing what you can when you can and doing less when you can’t do a lot. It’s paying attention to your activity levels, how you feel during activities, and your energy levels at certain times of the day. It’s all about managing those expectations with flexibility, patience and a little forgiveness.

With some simple guidelines to follow, you can start pacing yourself in a safe, effective, and efficient way.