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No, It Isn't All In Your Imagination...
My Story...
The medical profession has finally started to come to the conclusion of that which we as sufferers of Fibromyalgia have always known. It is not just in my head. I really do have pain, chronic pain, with little or no relief.
There are more and more doctors that are beginning to treat Fibromyalgia is a physical condition and not a mental one. There are mental ramifications with Fibromyalgia but it is from the depression that often accompanies it and from people not believing that someone looking so well can be so sick and
still function. My question has always been, Who says I'm still functioning? In most cases, we are just barely hanging on.
When I was still able to work, I had the reputation of being the most level-headed and even keeled person at the store, but I was just barely making it from moment to moment. I used to have to talk myself out of bed in the morning by telling myself I could go ahead and get up and then go back to bed if it was too much. Then the whole rest of the day was like that. I would talk myself into getting into the shower, getting dressed, starting out to work. I'd get there and tell myself, I could go home early if couldn't stand it and so on until I got off work and then the whole thing would start over the next day. I always wanted two days off in a row so I could sleep the first day in order to have enough energy to enjoy the next day or do housework. Now that I'm not working, going out takes every bit
of reserve and resolve that I have. It is like a little kid being told that he has to go to the dentist. "Gee, Mom, do I have to?"
I have found that the only way I can cope with the depression and pain is to put myself in a beautiful setting in my mind, surround myself with peaceful music, beautiful scenery and easy thoughts. Prayer and meditation are a great help. If it wasn't for my faith in Christ, my Lord and Savior, I don't think I would have made it. I love the things God made in this world
to enjoy. Flowers, trees, lakes, mountains, animals, birds. Two of my favorite things are flowers and birdsong. I have a classical tape with bird song accompaniment that really puts me into pure peace of mind. The sound of water trickling in a fountain or stream helps soothe me when in pain also.
If you are a Fibromite and are having a rough time getting through the pain, etc., think of the things you enjoy, seeing, doing, feeling, hearing and surround yourself with those things or imagine yourself there. One other thing I find helpful is a
friend. If you have a friend that always seems to make you feel better just talking to then try talking to your friend at your lowest points. If that friend has FMS, then that is even better. I have an Internet friend that also has Fibro and we've found
we are like sisters and can comfort and uplift each other. You have to do whatever it takes to get your mental state up for the onset of the pain or it will really bring you down. There are several web sites that have some really good information
and some that deal with the funny side of life. There are also some really bad sites on the Internet especially the ones with the miracle cures. One of the most helpful thing you can do as a Fibromite is to talk to others and the chat rooms for
Fibromyalgia are a good way to start. I have listed one here on this page. Just remember that the chat rooms are like anywhere else, you will find helpful and wonderful people but there you will also find the other kind of person. Just because one has
developed FMS or CFS for example, doesn't mean they suddenly become loving and giving human beings. Although sometimes, adversity makes the soul, other times it can
poison and already bitter soul.
Also I hope you like the new look of this page. I made it to represent FMS and Chronic Pain. It is symbolic of the black hole we are plunged into but there is beauty to behold while we live in the darkness. The darkness actually accentuates the beauty of the flowers and makes the hole worth being in because the beauty makes you forget what the dark represents and the beauty becomes even more spectacular. That is basically the way my Fibro Friends make me feel. They are the beauty, the light in my own personal black hole.
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