people who try to understand with out compareing my illness to theirs, or attempting to cmpare pain to a normal injury, those people are rare and it helps so much to just have someone listen with out comparing and with out judging.
I try to use distraction techniques when I'm struggling through pain or feeling anxious. Listen to podcasts, audiobooks etc to avoid need for hands to be up and aching holding a book. Or distract with other senses by using essential oils etc