I wrote earlier and asked people’s opinions about the website and app Curable. The consensus was that you could get the same info from the library.
But then I was talking with my daughter, Dr. Vanderwell, and she said that there have been studies that have shown that retraining the brain and how it manages pain have been at least somewhat successful and that she would be more inclined to do something like Curable than to advocate unknown products (my mom is pushing for me to try medical marijuana). So, in a week where I spent $120 in dr. visit co-pays, I thought, what do I have to lose, and I spent $76 and bought a year’s subscription to it. Reactions so far? Positive. Two things I’ve learned…
Facebook was causing my pain to be worse. I would spend too much time scrolling through there looking at the pictures that friends were posting about how amazing and wonderful (and fake) their lives were and it would be very stressful. So, I have begun the process of not unfriending them, but unfollowing them. That means, well, using the party analogy, if we’re at a party, I’ll talk to them if they come up and want to chat but if they are over on the other side of the room that’s fine. I can already tell that it’s less stressful. My goal is to have those I follow be authors, speakers, 10 to 20 people and family. Less scrolling is easier on the eyes and the visual aspect. Firing the Jones from my news feed leads to less fake news and less feeling like a failure.
Thinking about what causes pain - what emotions am I feeling when the pain spikes up? I’ve barely scratched the surface of it but I’ve done enough to see that there is a connection between moods and attitudes and pain.
Two small steps in the right direction. I can’t really say I’ve had any other steps in the right direction in a long time. So I’d say it’s going to be worth the time and effort and money and I wanted to share that with you all.
Oh and I am not in any way benefiting from urging you to try this.
Thanks for being who you are and what you all mean to all of us.
Hey Tom,
I looked thru ‘Curable’ and (to me) it seems very similar to a program that was run via a pain clinic I attended here and although the theories are sound, personally, I have been utilising many of these skills already. A BIG focus of the pain clinic was a change in attitude and also changing of the reliance on medications. These are two steps that I had already taken, so I found some of it as ‘preaching to the already converted’.
Now, don’t get me wrong here, I believe some of their paradigms are very valid and for those who have not tried such therapies they are well worth utilising BUT for me they have been a good addition to my management regime, not the key. I still find I need a pharmaceutical to manage. I will also state here that some of my pain may be self inflicted ie I think I’m OK and push myself a bit harder than a probably should, then pay for it later. I know I can be my own worse enemy, pushing myself too much. Learning to pace myself has been difficult. I like to start and finish a task, rather than breaking the task down into steps, then completing a few steps rather than the whole task. It’s all a learning but as my tolerances fluctuate so much recognising when enough is enough has been a big issue for me.
So that’s my experience with such apps
Merl, I agree with you 100% about the preaching to the converted. I also agree with being our own worst enemies. But the way I look at it, if for $6 a month, I can get a reminder to keep doing what I’m supposed to do, keep making the steps to stay mentally health and not let the pain control my life, then that’s $6 well spent for me. As I believe they say in the car business, “Your mileage may vary.” Has it made a life altering difference for me yet? Not a chance. But small improvements, yes…
Thanks for the feedback it’s good and I appreciate it. I also like to know that I’m not the only one who pushes too far. School is about ready to start here and I used to substitute teach. I enjoyed it immensely. I’m going to try to go back (depending on what Social Security says). I expect that I’ll pay for it later that day and the next day, we’ll have to see.
Tom
Tom,
It’s a balance thing. If I can get the balance between task and rest right I can be OK, well, more like manageable. But as I say my symptoms fluctuate SO MUCH, trying to get that balance balanced is fraught with danger. One day I seem to be able to climb a mountain then the next day I’m bedbound. I haven’t been able to find a stable, happy medium, I have to manage what ever the day throws at me. It seems everything has a flow on effect and some days it flows backwards, flowing right over the top of me. But in saying that an improvement is an improvement no matter what size, even a slight improvement is better than going backwards in my opinion.
Best of luck with the social security system, I had to fight like hell to eventually get mine approved and I cannot afford to put that at risk.
Merl - Thanks for clarifying. I understand what you mean more and it sounds like your roller coaster is larger than mine is.
When I mention the substitute teaching - I will only do that if there is something somewhere that social security says that you can make _____ per month without it becoming an issue - I read on an unreliable source - aka a personal blog - that you can make up to $850 a month without it being an issue with Social Security, I haven’t been able to verify whether that is true. If that is, that would give me up to 8 to 9 days a month - probably way more than I’d be able to do.
Does anyone know any true statistics about what you can do in terms of income?