1) Before you head home from the doctor's office appointment, make a detour and stop at the pet store for a few minutes. Watching the puppies, kittens and even hamsters spinning on their wheels for just twenty minute will give you a fresh outlook on the day. Studies have given us lots of reasons to spend time with pets; they help our overall well-being, decreasing our stress level, improving our quality of health, and even facilitating our healing of surgeries more rapidly. Success has brought about a lot of pet therapy for handicapped people and the elderly and pet owners with chronic and terminal illness become individuals when there is a Fido in the house.

2) Start a collection of our favorite tunes. The new ipod is the size of a cracker and only $50 and holds 250 songs. Research has shown that listening to music for 20 minutes a day can reduce pain levels among older people suffering from chronic conditions. Studies have also proven beneficial effects of music listening on healing in children. Choose all your favorite songs that give you energy, inspiration, hope and the desire to get up and dance, even if it's just as you mop the floor.

3) Join some kids for video games. Results of study from Wheeling Jesuit University discovered that video games actually have the ability to distract someone's attention from pain, even children. An organization called Games for Health was recently been formed to build relationships between researchers, medical professionals, and game developers. Here they can share information about how video games will impact technologies even health care and policy. Don't be surprised if your physical therapist has you playing ten minutes of a Wii game like bowling or tennis.

4) Pick up a coloring book and a one of those huge boxes of crayons with the sharpener in the back. If you haven't had children in your home, it's easy to assume that it's been years since you've experienced the delight of a newly sharpened crayon in your fingers. They have coloring books for everything now, or even free downloads online. Some of these include: wedding coloring books, leprechaun coloring book, and even monkey coloring books.

5) Cut some fresh flowers outside and bring them inside your home house. Take a hint from royal families and put them in each room, even a small bud in a vase in your bathroom. A few fresh flowers blended with fruit and musk can quickly change your outlook on the day through your sense. If you can't find any flowers in your yard, consider pulling a blooming weed. For example, a yellow dandelion can still give you a reprieve from panic, "burnout," depression, and extreme fatigue.

Living with chronic pain is conceivably one of the most demanding trials most people will face in their lifetime. But with a few simple changes and being aware of what you can do to relieve a bit of pain, you can revitalize the joy in your every day life. Though you may not have control over the illness, you can control your environment. Make it a happy one.