How are you doing with acceptance of your pain and limitations?

I came across a study which evaluated how well people have accepted their chronic illness.  The study designed a questionnaire to test how well people have adapted to their chronic conditions and accepted changes in their lives.

The authors define acceptance as giving up fruitless efforts to control all pain and redirecting one’s energy to living a positive life, even with pain and limitations.  Acceptance is not resignation or surrender.

Here are the items on their scale (slightly changed, in particular to relate to pain):

1.  I’ve come to terms with my pain.
2.  I’d give all my money to get rid of pain.
3.  I think of pain as a curse.
4.  I can’t conquer pain, but I can adapt to it.
5.  My fondest dream is that I’ll awaken without my pain.
6.  Having a disease like pain is just a part of life.
7.  Pain is a focal point in my life.
8.  I spend a lot of time wondering why I have pain.
9.  I think of pain as just part of who I am.
10.  I think a lot about what my life would be like without pain.

The actual scoring of their scale is complicated, but people who have most fully accepted their condition answer ‘agree’ to items 1, 4, 6, and 9, and ‘disagree’ to items 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10.

Acceptance does free up energy to get on with living, though doing that is a big challenge.  It’s also a process, rather than a 1-time decision.  Health challenges can even bring opportunities for growth and positive change.

What are your thoughts about acceptance?

The original article is:  Conceptualization and Development of the Acceptance
of Chronic Health Conditions Scale, by Alexa Stuifbergen et. al., in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2008, Volume 29, pages 101–114.

The deadline for your May Pain-Blog Carnival submission is 5/23. 

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