How To Pick Myself Up After A Flare

It takes time for my body to bounce back from an extreme flare. Sometimes it takes a few days or weeks to get back into my regular routine. There have been a few occasions in which I never fully returned to my normal status, but instead had to learn how to adjust my lifestyle to fit into my new normal. One thing that is consistent is that it takes time and patience.

Managing a psa flare

For many years extreme flares prevented me from continuing an exercise routine because I became frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t pick up where I left off. Instead of working with my chronic illnesses I allowed them to control me. However, in the past year, I have become more in tune with my body than ever before. How long I remain down and how long it takes to bounce back depends on the severity of the flare or if any of my other chronic illnesses decided to join PsA in a flare. During my flare, I pay close attention to the areas that my worst pain is stemming from. I cater to those areas during and after the flare as those areas are often tender for a time afterwards. It is impossible to know what to expect afterwards as each flare is different. Instead of giving up on exercising or resuming other activities in my life after a flare, I began to view my flares differently. I started viewing them as a way for my body to reboot. A flare forces me to rest and address the pain source.

Recovery time

Getting to know my body better and my willingness to work with my chronic illnesses has made starting over a possibility. When I tried to return to my typical level of activity immediately after a flare my body would go right back into a flare or I would injure myself. No longer willing to give up, I began taking baby steps. It is rare for my body to bounce back quickly. There have only been a few occasions that I was able to exercise for the same amount of time afterward that I did prior to the flare. Most of the time I need to take a few steps back. Instead of returning to 60-minute workouts, I may only be able to handle 10, 20, or 30 minutes. Again it depends upon which area of my body was flaring the worst and how long it takes to recover. I return to normal quickly when the flare stems from my feet, where it takes weeks to recover from flares that stem from my spine. Does having to take baby steps frustrate me? Yes!!! But I would rather take baby steps than no steps at all.