For instance...when I cannot tolerate the thumping and throbbing in my head anymore...it comforts me when Jesse either takes the palms of his hands to either side of my temples and squeezes with all his might...or takes a fistfull of my hair at the base of my skull and tugs as hard as he can.
I have also gone as far as banging my head againt the wall, punching the top of my head with my fists, and wrapping different accessories, such as a towel or belt, around my head tightly.
It has even gotten to the point where girls at work and my children will give my hair a yank if asked.
Wierd, huh?
I asked Dr. B. about this bizarre behavior I have been engaging in...
His response...
Good ole' distraction.
By creating different sensations...whether it be different types of pain, different areas of pain, numbing or vibration...it's all doing the same thing...
Distracting me from the relentless, chronic pain I feel in my head.
Distraction techniques can be very useful when trying to cope with pain. While it does not take the pain away, it can help take the edge off.
I do not advocate going to the extremes I have gone...but less dramatic techniques I also use includes...
-Watching tv
-Reading
-Meditating
-Yoga
-Taking a bath
But...really...back to the hair pulling it is!
4 comments:
I totally understand where you are coming from! When my joints or limbs are killing me, I do resort to inflicting some sort of pain on them, to take away from the pain they are causing. When nothing else works, you know... heating pad, ice heat ice, hot bath, etc..
I didn't know anyone else did this. You are not alone!
I pace, bang my head against the wall, smack my head, have been told it is also the nature of the pain. Migraines I wanted to be still and lie down in dark room. With The Headache I simply cannot be still.
Oh yeah, I've engaged in these kinds of behaviors too. When I was in high school I used to turn my stereo up really high and while I no longer can tolerate very loud music for any length of time (a product of my age I think) I still do things like watch TV, play online and cook as a distraction. I'm with Winny, in that sometimes the pain is too bad and all I can do is crawl in bed and take my meds.
It's wierd...because it's when I absolutely cannot take it anymore that I "break" and start doing these things out of desperation.
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