{"id":1932,"date":"2016-01-09T23:09:42","date_gmt":"2016-01-09T23:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1932"},"modified":"2016-01-09T23:09:42","modified_gmt":"2016-01-09T23:09:42","slug":"chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Pain: Taking a Break Already?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Second<\/a>Whew! What a wild beginning to the New Year! I don’t know about you, but the first week of this New Year has started off as if it were an entire month!<\/p>\n

For one thing, there’s always the “close up the old year, begin the new” activity, a timely combination of turning over calendars, appointment books or files, and accounting and other “admin of life” things. Then, too, there’s the outside world that has a way of bubbling up in unexpected ways: A doctor who, himself, is very ill and has to cancel crucial appointments, for example. Or the wild and wacky weather of the past few weeks (I was there, experiencing winter storms with eerily long crackles of thunder and torrential rain).<\/p>\n

Or, perhaps, the “wildness” is something else entirely: A health condition that seems to be difficult or impossible to understand and that paints itself into the year with unsettling hues.<\/p>\n

I moved into 2016 with lots of uncertainty, pending medical tests and appointments, and a steely determination. No matter how “wild” 2016 becomes, I am determined to take a break whenever needed. If you live with a chronic health condition or pain that doesn’t seem to send, sometimes you have a tendancy to “push through.” But this can be dangerous, bringing on complications along with the potential for frustration, or worse.<\/p>\n

So, if you’re condering if it’s okay to take a break already, in this first full week of 2016. Or, if you’re thinking, “I shouldn’t be tired\/confused\/anxiety-filled yet, should I?”, \u00a0believen me, a break might be just what you need. Relax. Rest. Meditate on the many blessings God has given you, which can become crowded out with our worries. And pray for calm, the “peace in the storm,” as I like to call it. And like the soaking many of us have experienced in the past few weeks weather-wise, His peace sill surely rain down!<\/p>\n

Joys – and a very Happy New Year!
\nMaureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whew! What a wild beginning to the New Year! I don’t know about you, but the first week of this New Year has started off as if it were an entire month! For one thing, there’s always the “close up the old year, begin the new” activity, a timely combination of turning over calendars, appointment…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,360,43,1047,578],"tags":[1991,44,1990],"class_list":["post-1932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-determination","category-encouragement-in-life","category-good","category-goodness","tag-a-new-year","tag-chronic-pain","tag-tired-already"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Pain: Taking a Break Already? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's okay to want to take a break, even this early in a new year!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Pain: Taking a Break Already? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's okay to want to take a break, even this early in a new year!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-09T23:09:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2015\/10\/Second-close-up-of-picture-257x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mpratt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chronic Pain: Taking a Break Already? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","description":"It's okay to want to take a break, even this early in a new year!","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chronic Pain: Taking a Break Already? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","og_description":"It's okay to want to take a break, even this early in a new year!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html","og_site_name":"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","article_published_time":"2016-01-09T23:09:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2015\/10\/Second-close-up-of-picture-257x300.jpg"}],"author":"mpratt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html","name":"Chronic Pain: Taking a Break Already? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2015\/10\/Second-close-up-of-picture-257x300.jpg","datePublished":"2016-01-09T23:09:42+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-09T23:09:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#\/schema\/person\/b47fd8e9d9cc9750d5779f75b8669a32"},"description":"It's okay to want to take a break, even this early in a new year!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2015\/10\/Second-close-up-of-picture-257x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2015\/10\/Second-close-up-of-picture-257x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/01\/chronic-pain-taking-a-break-already.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chronic Pain: Taking a Break Already?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/","name":"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","description":"Beliefnet Voices","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#\/schema\/person\/b47fd8e9d9cc9750d5779f75b8669a32","name":"mpratt","description":"Several years ago, Maureen Pratt earned her Master of Fine Arts in Theater Arts\/Playwriting from UCLA's School of Theater, FIlm and Television. She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1933,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions\/1933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}