Well after last week my pain seems to be doing better. I’m trying to stay as relaxed as possible even though at the best of times it can be a real challenge. I’m going to try to get back to doing something that I really like doing this week and that’s painting. I have just started painting in the last year and find it a really good distraction to try to take the focus away from my pain. I was finding it really hard to focus on however and stopped for a while.

Some of you may not know that before I was diagnosed with CRPS I was really into photography and it allowed me to really show the creative side of myself. So in the past year or so I’ve been trying to look for something to replace that hobby and painting is a natural fit. I have the ability to see the picture I just have to paint it instead of taking a picture of it. Except one thing stands in the way, my drawing skills are made up of stick men and other stick figures. The hardest part to me is going to be trying to learn the drawing aspect.

It’s all about taking on the challenge however, and learning and making lots of small improvements. In lots of ways this is much like how I deal with my CRPS. It’s about facing a challenge that’s been put in front of you and learning to overcome it. Your going to face all kinds of things along the way however you put your head down and you keep on going. Over time as you take on each new challenge, you’ll become stronger and better prepared to take on the next challenge.

In a lot of ways I think painting will help me by both relaxing me and helping me in those areas of facing challenges put in front of me. It helps to keep me focused on something other than all the pain which is also a big help. Finding something that can really distract you from all the pain is so important. You don’t give the pain a chance to build and build. Not only that though, it gives you the chance to feel good about something. Ask yourself when the last time it was that you felt good about something?

I might only be able to draw stick figures at the moment however my goal in the end is to be able to hang a piece of art on my wall. That is if my wife will let me!! I can make similar comparisons with the way that I have had to learn to deal with my CRPS. At the start it was even harder than it is right now. I knew nothing about CRPS itself and the challenges that I faced. As time has gone by I am slowly facing all those challenges and learning from them. In the end I hope to be able to overcome CRPS itself.