I’ve been battling Fibromyalgia for more than twenty years now. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by widespread pain in the muscles and joints. Other common symptoms are fatigue, “fibro fog”, sleep, mood, and memory issues. While researchers are not sure what exactly causes fibromyalgia, they do believe that often an event involving physical and/or psychological trauma can trigger the symptoms.
One thing I’ve learned is that Fibromyalgia will suck the life out of you if you let it. And it’s so easy to let it. Between the pain, the exhaustion, and the brain fog (just to name a few of the symptoms), it is so easy to fall into a rut. You want to do things, but when you do it so often puts you out of commission. So, you do nothing except what is absolutely necessary. Depression soon follows which makes it even harder to get out of the rut you’re in. It’s a vicious cycle. However, there comes a point when enough is enough and you must choose what your life going forward is going to look like. Below are some ways to help you develop a life that you can love.
Coping with Fibromyalgia
Accept the fact that your life probably isn’t going to be like everyone else’s
This is a hard pill to swallow. It’s so easy to get angry when you realize that you probably won’t ever have a “normal” life. You may never be able to do things just like everyone else. You may have to make accommodations in certain areas of your life. But, really, what is “normal” anyway? Accepting this does not mean that you can’t have an amazing life. It simply means you must work around your illness.
Practice extreme self-care
When you have any sort of chronic illness, it is vitally important that you do what is necessary to take care of yourself. And there will be times when you must be willing to be “selfish” and fiercely protective of that time of self-care. It is going to look different to everyone because what soothes and feeds the soul is going to be different for everyone. Also, be sure to apply this to every area of your being. Take vitamins and eat healthy food to give your body the nutrients it needs to battle your illness. Meditate, do yoga, or take a hot bath to help your body and mind relax and de-stress. Rest when your body needs to rest. And find something that feeds your soul. Don’t neglect your physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional needs. We are truly multi-dimensional creatures and it’s so important to take care of our whole being.
Break any project down into stages
If you’re like me, when you start a project, you don’t want to stop until it’s finished. But then you have to deal with the consequences of bone-deep exhaustion and widespread pain. You have to get out of that mindset. Instead, break the project down into stages and schedule in times of rest in between the stages. For example, I recently put in a vegetable garden in my backyard. I made a raised garden bed out of cinderblock, planted some herbs and veggies, and put a cute little ready-made picket fence around it to protect it from my dogs. It was a big project with a great deal of physical exertion. I started early in the morning. I placed the cinderblocks, then went and rested for about an hour. I added the potting soil and then once again rested. Then I planted the veggies. At that point we were well into the heat of the day here in Texas, so I lay down and took a two-hour nap. When it started cooling off, I placed the fence into the ground. Then I spent the rest of the evening resting. Truthfully, I should have spread this out over a few days because it was still rough on me, but you get the picture. Don’t be afraid to break any project down into as many stages as you need.
Living life with Fibromyalgia can be tough. There’s no getting around it. But just because you have Fibromyalgia does not mean you can’t have a happy and fulfilled life. There may be times where surviving is all you can do and that’s okay. But don’t stay there. Life is a gift if an imperfect one.
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I find it very interesting how similar fibro and lupus are. The early days were definitely the worse for me. Coming to terms with this new thing I needed to manage. Hardest was learning to listen to my body and slow down.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I love your positive outlook and support you offer for others. Such a gift to give another.
I unfortunately did not know much about Fibromyalgia. I had no idea how bad the symptoms were. I am so sorry you are going through this. Thank you for educating me on this.