Emotional Health and Fibromyalgia
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Coping with fibromyalgia can be emotionally draining, but many people who are diagnosed with this condition live long and satisfying lives. Following a well-designed treatment plan is essential. If your doctor has prescribed medication for controlling fibromyalgia symptoms, take all doses on schedule and report any side effects you experience. Managing fibromyalgia on a daily basis can help prevent your symptoms from overwhelming you. Take these steps:
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Make time for regular exercise. Low-impact activities such as walking, swimming, or riding a stationary bike are ideal for many people with fibromyalgia. Water aerobics or water yoga may be helpful, too.
- If you have trouble sleeping due to fibromyalgia, talk to your doctor about strategies for overcoming this problem. Lost sleep will cause fatigue, which may worsen your symptoms.
- Keep stress in check. Try relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation.
These strategies can help you to feel like your old self, or maybe even better.
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It can be frustrating and emotionally difficult when your body becomes increasingly sensitive to pain and you're easily fatigued. But try to focus on the positive. Be extra mindful of all the things you can do, and celebrate the good days when you're feeling less pain and fatigue. Cheer your body on; don't lash out at it. Start and end each day with a few optimistic thoughts. It may help to keep a happiness journal, noting what your body did for you each day and how it performed well, among other things.
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You will probably experience a range of reactions to your fibromyalgia from friends, family, coworkers, and others. Some may question whether fibromyalgia is a real illness, or tell you, "But you don't look sick!" This can be frustrating, but try not to let it get you down. Save your energy for the important things you want to accomplish. Some friends and family may be in denial about your fibromyalgia, and act as if nothing is wrong. You may want to broach the subject of fibromyalgia with them gently and remind them that it's okay, and healthy, to talk about your condition. Be open and responsive to any questions others may have about fibromyalgia. You can be an educational source for them.
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Emotional stress can worsen fibromyalgia symptoms. People with fibromyalgia often say that their pain and other symptoms flare up or feel worse when they're having a stressful day or coping with emotionally upsetting circumstances. Finding a way to manage your stress level, such as practicing meditation or yoga, can help you control fibromyalgia symptoms.
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Many people cope with chronic pain and insomnia by pretending it isn’t happening. But this coping strategy may be costing you lots of your limited energy that could be better used for proactive approaches to alternative treatments, like taking a water aerobics or yoga class.
What matters the most is how well you cope emotionally with your illness and that you take proactive steps toward positive lifestyle changes, including more exercise and a better diet. You must conquer denial before you can be a fully successful patient.
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Anger is a normal and natural emotion. However, it becomes destructive when we let it consume our life, have a negative impact our relationships, or keep us from performing our best. Did you know that anger can actually make your fibromyalgia worse? Inhibiting your anger may increase your sensitivity to pain. Suppressing or holding in your anger may make you more aware of it and making you feel angrier. You may feel no escape from your emotion.
Here are some quick tips to help you find healthy outlets to express your anger.
- Accept your anger as a normal emotion. Stop fighting it; rather accept it for what it is an emotion. Don’t hold onto it as it will consume you. You are not your anger rather it is a part of you but not all of you.
- Find an outlet to release your anger. Choose an activity that you enjoy. Make sure that you incorporate that activity as a part of your daily life. We all need make sure that we are engaging in things that bring us joy.
- Find your voice to express yourself. Use assertion not aggression to articulate how you feel; as Stephen Covey put it “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood”.
- Anger masks other emotions. Odds are your anger is concealing an underlying emotion, i.e., hurt, pain, shame, guilt, anxiety, or fear. Go to the root of your anger. Address the true emotion that you’re feeling and work on that, by default your anger will decrease.
- Work on changing your perspective. Listen to the words you feed yourself. Are you saying more negative things than positive? If so, spin those thoughts around and change your self-talk.
- Channel that anger toward the positive. Join a fibromyalgia support group; if your neighborhood doesn’t have one start one. Organize an event to increase public awareness of fibromyalgia. Regardless of what it is, find something that you can get involved in to make a difference in your life and others as well.
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Dealing with fibromyalgia, like dealing with any debilitating chronic problem can be difficult. How we choose to let our disease process affect us mentally is a choice. There are going to be times when the disease process is going to get you down, and that is not surprising, but there are ways of refocusing. Think about what you normally find funny and be sure they are part of your life. Keep a diary of the things that make you smile. You might find outright laughing is not working for you right now, but just putting a smile on your face changes the way your body feels. Watch children or pets at play. Think about some of the funny things that have happened to you in your life. Watch a comedy. When I was dealing with the events around having cancer there were two movies that always made me smile. I got copies of them and would watch them when I needed to lift my mood. We can't change the events around us, but we can make choices about how to deal with them.
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Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, psychiatrist, and author of On Death and Dying, believed that it’s the acknowledgment of loss that holds the key to acceptance with dignity and grace. Ask yourself, “What steps can I take to accept my fibromyalgia?” Another version of this question is, “How can I treat myself with more compassion?”
Acceptance and self-love can help you overcome your internal critic who only remembers your former ability to win dance contests, have great sex, or play basketball. Guilt drains your energy to make positive adjustments.
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