A Buddhist-Inspired View of Pacing

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By Toni Bernhard
 

Editor’s Note: Toni Bernhard, is a retired law school professor, the author of three books and the writer behind the 'Turning Straw into Gold' column at Psychology Today. She has been a member of our community for almost two decades.

The article below is taken from the new edition of her book How to be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers. copyright 2018 by Toni Bernhard. The article is excerpted with permission from Wisdom Publications.

Pacing refers to alternating periods of activity and rest. The idea is to stay within the limits of what our health can handle so as not to exacerbate our symptoms.

Pacing is the perfect example of combining wise action and wise inaction to improve quality of life for the chronically ill. It’s the single best “treatment” I’ve found, so it’s sad that I’m still struggling to master this skill.

First, I have a love-hate relationship with it. On the one hand, I love pacing because it decreases the chances that my symptoms will flare. On the other hand, I hate it because it keeps me from doing everything I want to do.

Second, I’m much better at pacing when I’m at my best, as opposed to when I’m at my worst. I raise this because failing at pacing is generally considered to be the result of overdoing things when you’re feeling good and then paying for it later, often by being confined to bed for a time.

This is called the “push-crash cycle.” I can do that too, but in this complicated relationship I have with pacing, I’m more likely to fail at it by overdoing things when I’m already feeling lousy. I call this the “crash-crash cycle.” I’ve learned I’m not alone in doing this.

The reason that some of us tend to ignore pacing when we’re feeling particularly sick or in pain is because being active distracts us from our symptoms; it keeps us from tuning in to how our bodies feel.

Of course, eventually, the time comes when our minds take charge and say, “That is enough for now.” Then we give in and rest, but we also have to live with feeling worse due to all that extra activity.

I hope you’ll give pacing a try. We can work on it together. Here are four suggestions that can help you succeed with this “treatment”:

Make a schedule. Create a schedule for the day that incorporates rest in between each activity you want or have to do, be it mental or physical. This way you’re dividing your activities into manageable chunks of time. Simply having that schedule in front of you will keep you from deviating from it too much.

Without set time frames, you’re likely to lose track of time and keep at an activity much too long. Some people find it helpful to set a timer; when it goes off, they know it’s time to stop whatever they’re doing and rest for a while.

Do tasks more slowly. Many of us tend to do things quickly. Slowing down is an excellent way to pace. When you catch yourself going faster and faster—perhaps folding the laundry or doing the dishes—consciously tell yourself to slow down. Not only will you save energy but you’re also more likely to enjoy the task.

Try the 50 percent rule. Decide what you can comfortably do on a given day and then only do 50 percent of it. This is a great pacing strategy because most of us overestimate what we can comfortably do, so the 50 percent rule keeps us safely within our limits.

I recommend thinking of that unexpended 50 percent as a gift you’re giving yourself to help you ease the difficulties of living with chronic pain and illness.

Use three-breath practice to stop yourself when you’re doing too much. When you suspect that you’re overdoing it and ignoring your body’s signals to rest, stop and take three conscious breaths as described in the previous chapter.

This switches your attention to your body and enables you to realize that you’ve been doing too much as a way of distracting yourself from unpleasant physical sensations.

With this in mind, try reflecting with self-compassion on those sensations: “This is what pain feels like”; “This is what sickness feels like.” Then, instead of resuming that distracting activity, focus on self-care by resting.

A final word on pacing. Expect the unexpected. No matter how carefully you’ve planned to pace yourself, as John Lennon sang in “Beautiful Boy,” “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

When that happens, don’t blame yourself for getting off course and don’t abandon pacing. Instead, start where you are and try again. Remember the Korean Zen Master Ko Bong’s “Try Mind”? It’s a perfect companion to pacing.