Forging Outside of Your Comfort Zone
As someone who has experienced joint pain and lived with rheumatoid arthritis for most of my life now, there is one consistent question I ask myself: How do you get past the discomfort of going out when staying at home may be easier some days?
Dealing with RA on a 'regular' day
For me, this depends a lot on seasons. When it's hot, humid, rainy, damp, or freezing, this question is a lot harder to answer than when it's "nice" out (sunny or cloudy or temperatures in the "regular," routine range).
Let's start with a regular day.
I wake up with pain. I do my morning stretches (low-key, modified by the pain I'm feeling), drink about 20 ounces of water, take my medication, and then start to move around the house.
I use my morning routine to gauge how it might feel to go out for the day.
What about on harder days?
Now, days that I have appointments are less flexible and more, "How are we going to make it through this?" versus days where I'm thinking about running errands, going grocery shopping, picking up my medicine, etc. A lot of it involves mental convincing. Sometimes, it involves taking medication for the pain I'm feeling. A lot of times it involves extra movement and stretching, hoping that my joints will agree to work with me outside of the house as well as they are inside of the house.
What about the harder days?
The days where the weather affects my body (and my mental health), I have to really think about getting past the discomfort of going out when staying home would be MUCH easier. This part, to me, is much more of a mental game.
It's convincing myself that: a) I have to go wherever I'm going, b) it might not be so bad, c) if it is so bad, I know how to come home and take care of myself, and d) I've done this before and survived.
How I convince myself to brave the weather
Here are my tips for getting through this "convincing oneself" stage:
- Remember that your body is built for tough things. It might not show it most of the time, but overall, you can do this.
- You know how best to take care of your body. So, when it comes to climate — prepare! Ice packs, cool towels, and fans for hot and humid weather; scarves, gloves, extra layers, and instant heat packs if it's freezing cold out.
- For me, the worst weather is when it's damp. I feel it in every joint. I ache and feel miserable after braving that weather. I always have a small plan for coming home after a day like that — involving a hot shower, a heated blanket, tea, and a warm, soothing meal like soup or chili in order to soothe my body from the inside out.
What tips do you have for working up to going out?
Do you ever have trouble convincing yourself to get past the discomfort of going out when staying home may be easier?
What tips do you have for our community readers beyond what I shared above? I'd love if you'd leave them in the comments section below.
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