Hi everyoneeee I'm an artist that struggles with chronic pain on a near daily basis [ was diagnosed generalized however once the pandemic is over I really want to get a second opinion as it's only grown worse ] along with some mental illness and blood sugar issues [ Hypoglycemia hoorayyyy ] Most of my pain is focused in my joints, especially my fingers, back, hip, and legs. I also suffer from chronic headaches which all of this combined can make art really difficult. The best way to explain it is imagine your hand on every joint feeling like it got smashed HARD in a car door.
It makes keeping deadlines really hard because my flare ups will hit out of nowhere and render me unable to even pick up my tablet pen... though I try to keep the pain at minimum with painkillers and laying down a lot. Walks used to help my hips and legs but with the whole pandemic... I've been stuck at home a lot and the muscles have tightened up again :C
I try to be kind to myself, to realize this is how I am and that's ok, even if it means a life of never feeling 100% I'll take a 75% any day! A warm cup on the hands also helps sometimes.
Are you down with the sickness
And if you are, how do you manage the pain that comes with it?
Background: I have Fibromyalgia, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, etc and just so happen to be allergic to all normal pain medications... NSAIDs. So stuff like aspirin is off the table.
I've tried a lotta stuff to help but I find a ton of advice generally doesn't apply to hand intensive stuff like drawing.
Share your life tips..... your Life Hacks.... what do y'all do when your hands are like balloon animals..... when your body is a temple but an old one filled with booby traps
not sure if this is the best section to plug it, buuuuut we might as well try LMAO
I've got Fibromylagia, depression, and anxiety.
While the fibromylagia makes things a pain in the ass, depression also really limits my motivation to draw.
I'm not sure what I'm really doing with my life atm and it's made me feel awful. I wanna draw but sometimes I get worried about finances and try to turn it into some form of income but I haven't had luck with that and it's also made me a lot less motivated to draw because of the pressure I put on myself.
I work fast-food but I can only work 4hrs a day max because my body is in pain easily. Doesn't help that my managers are mean and I've burnt myself a few times. I've had to change my hours give me a day of rest in between because otherwise the pain starts building up.
What helps me with fibromyalgia is sleeping, medicine, using ice, and hot showers. It doesn't always make the pain completely go away but it helps.
I also have a psychologist but I can't tell if it's helping yet honestly. Still feeling depressed and constantly questioning wtf I'm doing lol.