How Do You Manage Pain

By Padmini Mangunta

Pain is more than a physical consequence of an accident or disease. It’s also a guide to your body and ways it might be in trouble. How you manage and cope with pain can also reflect your emotional state, personal habits, and even your outlook on life.

Take this quiz and find out your pain personality.

You believe pain can be a useful tool in managing your health.

Agree

Disagree

You’re excited to attend a friend’s birthday, but you develop a bad headache an hour before leaving the house. You:

Fight through the pain and leave as planned.

Take the maximum number of headache pills and save a few for later.

Give in to the pain, cancel your plans, and stay in bed.

At work you’re given a highly competitive project that you’ve been excited about for weeks. You:

You dive right in, eager to do a great job.

You mull over your ideas before hitting the ground running. You don't want to become stressed and trigger a pain response.

Put it off until a few days before the deadline and then panic.

While out on an afternoon hike with friends, you pull a muscle in your leg. When your friends offer you various over-the-counter pain relievers, you:

Refuse them all. Your body is a temple.

Take the maximum dosage and keep hiking.

Turn around so that you can rest your leg and use heating/cooling pads. The pull is your body’s way of telling you to slow down.

How do you research the causes and cures for your pain symptoms?

You don’t; the pain will fade eventually.

By going to your doctor, your most trusted source.

The Internet has all the answers you need.

Do you believe pain can be controlled by your mind?

Yes, with enough effort.

No. Pain is a physical response.

You’ve just had an emotionally painful fight with your significant other. You respond by:

Pretending nothing ever happened.

Taking a break from the situation before re-approaching it more calmly.

Arguing until you get the result you want.

What is your view on pain?

It’s something to be avoided at all costs.

It’s a natural part of life.

Pain is for wimps.

What are your views on painkillers?

They’re effective, and one of the luxuries of modern-day life.

They’re unnecessary, and possibly unhealthy.

They’re good to have for emergencies.

They’re central to my pain management regimen.

How do you respond when your doctor warns you to make a change to your health habits?

You take the suggestions seriously and start implementing the changes immediately.

You take the suggestions under advisement, but don’t rush to make any changes.

Disregard the advice; you feel healthy as a horse!

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