"Every time you're making a choice, ask yourself if it's going to cultivate the experience of unity and love or the experience of separation and stress." – Deepak Chopra

We all experience fear. When it comes to living with a chronic condition like chronic pain, fear can manifest in many ways. Sometimes our initial diagnosis gives us fears about our quality of life. Dealing with the realities of our "new normal," with chronic pain can put us in a chronically fearful state of mind. Will I have a flare today? Will I be able to attend to my daily tasks pain-free? Fear about outcomes that are beyond our control can facilitate fear taking root.

"I finally came to realize that my fears about having X and what that could potentially mean were ADDING to my pain. Once I consciously decided to relieve myself of that burden I could better focus on managing my chronic pain." – Member of MyChronicPainTeam

Here are recent conversations from MyChronicPainTeam:

• "Today I will continue to find new ways to handle the overpowering waves of pain and not let it get the better of me. It isn't going away in this lifetime so I might as well do the best I can with my situation."
• "My daughter & 2 grandchildren visited me for a week. Left yesterday. Although my limitations made it hard to keep up with them, I still loved being with them. And I’m Sure it distracted me from constant pain."
• "I’m trying to lift myself out of this slump & using all the “tricks and tools” in my pain management regime to get through this flare and ease this pain. I have to thank you all for your support and kindness these past days and apologize for sounding so down and negative. I can’t put into words just how much it means."

Dealing with fear will look different for everyone. Sometimes it means arguing with our intrusive thoughts. Sometimes it looks like meditating to clear the mind. How do you stop fear from taking over? Join the conversation below.