Creating a ‘fun presciption’

Giving yourself rewards is a vital part of your treatment programme. Now you have had a chance to think about what you find rewarding, look at the ideas for a ‘fun prescription’ on the next page.

Research has shown that having fun and laughter seems to release the body’s ‘natural opiates’, or endorphins. This may help to reduce pain and increase your sense of well-being. At the very least, it can be a distraction!

Some people with chronic pain feel their sense of humour has kept them going. Some feel they have lost their sense of humour altogether. Planning enjoyable experiences can help you to find it and/or keep it!

A fun prescription helps you to remember to have some fun, even when it is not the first thing that comes to mind. Being in pain can make it harder to enjoy yourself; you can get out of practice at taking pleasure in things.

As you practise having more fun and gradually increase what you can do, it will get easier. This is why it is important to plan something rewarding every day.

Here is an example of a fun prescription:

FUN PRESCRIPTION

Name: Jim Date: 11/6/04

50 Mg of fun three times a day (at least) For maximum benefit, use imagination!

•   Watch a funny video.

•   Watch a championship football match on TV.

•   Try out a new supper recipe.

•   Get a bird feeder for the garden.

•   Start a scrapbook of silly cartoons.

•   Phone someone I enjoy talking to.

•   Invite a friend round to play cards.

•   Design a silly T-shirt.

•   Go somewhere new.

•   Listen to that tango music.

•   Juggle the lemons from the fruit bowl!

Do not discontinue this treatment without medical advice!

Now write your own fun prescription in your notebook! Remember to add to it as more ideas occur to you. Try to include smaller rewards for everyday, and some larger ones to reward yourself for persistence, or for reaching a longer-term target you have set yourself.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

•   Rewards are a vital part of managing chronic pain. They can help you to keep going when ‘the going gets tough’.

•   Rewards help you appreciate your own efforts and build self-confidence while you are working to achieve your goals.

•   Rewards can include material things like gifts; social rewards, such as having someone smile at you; or other activities that give a sense of pleasure or achievement.

•   It is important to find rewards that work for you, not necessarily what others find rewarding.

•   Sometimes it can feel as if you don’t ‘deserve’ a reward, but they are an important part of achieving your goals.

•   They can help you to rediscover pleasure and fun, and a ‘fun prescription’ gives you an opportunity to remember to enjoy yourself every day.

8

Understanding pacing skills

This chapter aims to help you to understand:

•   What pacing is

•   What the different styles of pacing are

•   How to change your pacing style

•   How to deal with barriers to realistic pacing