How this woman went from recovering alcoholic to inspiring others on how to live with chronic pain
As someone afflicted with chronic pain, instead of living in misery and complaining about it, Lauren Blanchard Zalewski has taken control of the situation and turned it around to create something positive.
Lauren is founder of the website, GratitudeAddict.com, and she also runs a Facebook group called “Attitude of gratitude with chronic pain”, where there are now more than 2000 active members involved.
The group shares ideas and positive experiences on dealing with chronic pain, focusing on staying positive, being grateful for what IS working, and finding solutions, instead of complaining about the problems, with the idea that staying positive can help. From our own experience, we know this to be true, so we asked Lauren to share her story briefly, in the hopes that we can inspire others in overcoming the adversity of chronic pain.
In a nutshell, Lauren was afflicted with chronic pain for years, and eventually turned to alcohol to relieve the pain. Unfortunately, she slowly found herself becoming an alcoholic. Lauren then had to undergo a 12 step treatment program, and she has now been sober for over four years. What Lauren learned is that replacing the pain with harmful substances is not the answer, but putting your focus on what’s positive is!
Have you ever wondered how professional athletes can play through an injury and not even notice it at times? Or how they can play through pain? It’s because they are so intensely focused on playing the sport, that there isn’t “room” in their mind to focus in on the pain. The mind can only think of one thing at a time, and professional athletes are masters at focusing in are what they need to do at the moment.
(Michael’s comment: I have personally experienced dealing with chronic pain, and through my experiences with hypnosis and NLP, I have learned that when you are involved in an activity that you enjoy, your focus is on the activity, and not your pain. This causes your mind to shift to focusing on joy and happiness rather than focusing on the pain, because where you put your focus is where you get the result from. Plus the joy you experience releases endorphins in your brain which are naturally occurring pain numbing chemicals, because the endorphins work with the opiate receptors in your brain to reduce the perception of pain. This has been medically proven.)
In the video below, Lauren shares her journey with us, and how she went from recovering alcoholic to inspiring others to think in a different way. We think you will find Lauren’s story helpful if you have chronic pain or know anyone who does. Please share this post!
Did you find Lauren’s video helpful? Do you have any ideas for what helps when afflicted by chronic pain? Please let us know your thoughts below in the comments.
For virtually my whole life I’ve been dealing with this. Something to think about for sure. I will try to visit the website when I have time.
awesome job Lauren! Thank you for sharing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for asking me to share my story with your community. I hope that it can help others to not only find the good in THEIR situations but to realize that HOPE & GRATITUDE can get us through the roughest of times.
Thanks, Michael. Great site!
Thanks for sharing your story Lauren. My hope is, that it reaches many and touches their heart, to make the changes they’d be happier, for making.
2000 members when you started talking about writing your book…and now it is written and you have nearly 6000 members! WHAT AN ACHIVEMENT! I am proud to say I know you and grateful to have found AoG! Thank you for sharing your vision and helping enlighten the world.