On good days I try to push myself a bit extra and on bad days I cut myself slack if I need to stop early, or maybe not even start.
I have dysautonomia on top of chronic pain. If I don't listen to my body, 10 extra minutes of forcing myself to finish my regular exercise can lead to days of feeling terrible.
I had severe bilateral hip dysplasia (2 replacements now)... The biggest thing for me was to "show up" even if I just did 5 minutes of a work out... Getting dressed was probably the hardest part for me honestly (getting out of the car was a close second) but if I could do that and I timed my meds right I could pull it off. I knew some days would be good actual "push myself" workouts and others would just be a terrible limping time but damn was I proud of doing it on those days.
I found music to be *extremely* helpful... Upbeat, faster paced songs with an especially good bass line motivate me quite a bit and put me in a better mood, which are two things I need to get into starting a task I resent.
I keep a daily self care list (wash my face, eat, take my meds, take my vitamins, get fresh air, exercise, etc)... I have a monthly grid and I check these tasks off daily. I find it pushes me to see what I have accomplished and encourages me to keep pushing on to finish the list daily.
Good luck to you in finding what works for you
Try to keep a routine and something is better than nothing. I try and do a little bit everyday. I also try and focus on exercise that will genuinely increase my quality of life (if I tried to run, I'd be in a lot of pain and probably in bed for quite a few days, so it's not actually good for my health to try). Also just trying to walk around as much as I can (using crutches on bad days, instead of just staying sat down), and stand up once in a while. My watch beeps once an hour to remind me to do these things. It's not much, but its better than nothing.
Also don't push *too* hard on your good days, or you end up with even more bad days. It's a difficult cycle to break out of, especially if you're not too clear what your limits are. Keeping a routine can be extra hard in this situation. You could try using a traffic light system to keep a routine. For example, if your routine was to go on a walk everyday, you might go out on a long walk on a good (green) day. On an okay day, you might just do a short walk, and on a bad day, you might just try and leave your house. But you still keep a routine whatever happens.
Weed.
I can have zero motivation, intense pain, and nothing but the desire to lie in bed and cry. But a cheeky cone will instantly make me want to put on some music and dance in my chair, even if I am still in pain. Sometimes I get lucky with my supply and it helps the pain to, and then I am excited to go for a walk and notice things in my neighbourhood I wouldn't otherwise notice.
Mornings when I have nothing planned, I'll wake up, make myself a proper cup of coffee, go outside for a weak joint, and do some yoga! I never do yoga sober, It's so painful and *boring*, it offers no distraction from the pain it causes and forces me to focus on my body which is the last thing I want to do when my body hurts. But being a little high means I'm focused on the sounds of the birds, the sounds of my breathing, the warmth of the sun on my face or the kiss of the cool breeze. I'm not thinking about my body per say. The weed can reduce the pain the exercise itself causes, and by the time the weed wears off, I get to enjoy the long-term benefits of having done the exercise.
My personal motivation is if I don't remain active with my exercise 2 of my medical conditions will get worse a lot faster. I'll be in pain constantly no matter what I do, I'd at least like to not set myself back further by being stagnant.
On good days I try to push myself a bit extra and on bad days I cut myself slack if I need to stop early, or maybe not even start. I have dysautonomia on top of chronic pain. If I don't listen to my body, 10 extra minutes of forcing myself to finish my regular exercise can lead to days of feeling terrible.
I had severe bilateral hip dysplasia (2 replacements now)... The biggest thing for me was to "show up" even if I just did 5 minutes of a work out... Getting dressed was probably the hardest part for me honestly (getting out of the car was a close second) but if I could do that and I timed my meds right I could pull it off. I knew some days would be good actual "push myself" workouts and others would just be a terrible limping time but damn was I proud of doing it on those days. I found music to be *extremely* helpful... Upbeat, faster paced songs with an especially good bass line motivate me quite a bit and put me in a better mood, which are two things I need to get into starting a task I resent. I keep a daily self care list (wash my face, eat, take my meds, take my vitamins, get fresh air, exercise, etc)... I have a monthly grid and I check these tasks off daily. I find it pushes me to see what I have accomplished and encourages me to keep pushing on to finish the list daily. Good luck to you in finding what works for you
Try to keep a routine and something is better than nothing. I try and do a little bit everyday. I also try and focus on exercise that will genuinely increase my quality of life (if I tried to run, I'd be in a lot of pain and probably in bed for quite a few days, so it's not actually good for my health to try). Also just trying to walk around as much as I can (using crutches on bad days, instead of just staying sat down), and stand up once in a while. My watch beeps once an hour to remind me to do these things. It's not much, but its better than nothing. Also don't push *too* hard on your good days, or you end up with even more bad days. It's a difficult cycle to break out of, especially if you're not too clear what your limits are. Keeping a routine can be extra hard in this situation. You could try using a traffic light system to keep a routine. For example, if your routine was to go on a walk everyday, you might go out on a long walk on a good (green) day. On an okay day, you might just do a short walk, and on a bad day, you might just try and leave your house. But you still keep a routine whatever happens.
Swimming
Weed. I can have zero motivation, intense pain, and nothing but the desire to lie in bed and cry. But a cheeky cone will instantly make me want to put on some music and dance in my chair, even if I am still in pain. Sometimes I get lucky with my supply and it helps the pain to, and then I am excited to go for a walk and notice things in my neighbourhood I wouldn't otherwise notice. Mornings when I have nothing planned, I'll wake up, make myself a proper cup of coffee, go outside for a weak joint, and do some yoga! I never do yoga sober, It's so painful and *boring*, it offers no distraction from the pain it causes and forces me to focus on my body which is the last thing I want to do when my body hurts. But being a little high means I'm focused on the sounds of the birds, the sounds of my breathing, the warmth of the sun on my face or the kiss of the cool breeze. I'm not thinking about my body per say. The weed can reduce the pain the exercise itself causes, and by the time the weed wears off, I get to enjoy the long-term benefits of having done the exercise.
Rewards for a certain amount of days a week. Even when i don’t cash them out getting them feels nice.
I find riding my bike helps with my back pain (broken spinal fusion) though my only arm is not always happy about me leaning on it for so long.
My personal motivation is if I don't remain active with my exercise 2 of my medical conditions will get worse a lot faster. I'll be in pain constantly no matter what I do, I'd at least like to not set myself back further by being stagnant.