I’ve been thinking about this post for quite some time now
but I just couldn’t quite figure out how to word everything I wanted to say.
Finally, I decided I’m just going to word-vomit it all down on here, do my
best to edit said word-vomit, then post it and hope someone besides me
understands what I’m trying to say. So, here goes nothin’…
Body vs Mind is like Fibromyalgia’s own Civil War. What I
mean by that is, with all of the different aspects that the Body and Mind
disagree on in cases of Fibro (or other chronic illness'), it’s like a bunch of separate battles happening all over that get
wrapped up into one big war called Fibromyalgia. Make sense? Probably not, but
I’ll try to explain.
Battle #1: My Brain
says it hurts, but the medical tests say it shouldn’t.
To reference my last
post, Fibromyalgia is invisible. When you first go to the doctor and start
describing your pain, they’re going to run every test in the book. They’ll be
looking for cartilage damage, tendon and ligament damage, auto-immune diseases,
vitamin deficiencies, red/white blood cell count, cholesterol, kidney function,
liver function…ok you get the point. If you have Fibromyalgia (and not any
other prominent issue), all of those tests are going to come back
negative/non-conclusive. They will find NOTHING. What will make the biggest
difference in your life though is if your doctor has the brains to tell you,
“It’s OK,” and that the negative test results are all part of the diagnosis
process. You ARE NOT crazy. The pain is REAL. It’s just that all of the initial
tests don’t go looking into your Central Nervous System. Even if it did, it’s
not like your CNS is holding up a big red flag that says “Oh hey! I know the
answer!” The CNS, being the complicated system that it is, does not tend to
offer up much in ways of answers when it comes to Fibro, yet. Doctors are still researching to find definitive answers for
us, and I have faith that they will.
Battle #2: My Brain
thinks I can, but my Body says otherwise.
Sure! Your brain says it would be a great idea to go out clubbing with the girls until 4am. But your
body is going to cruelly make you pay for it tomorrow (and probably for the
following week.) This battle is one we Fibromites start fighting before we even
get diagnosed. It’s the first official “Sneak Attack.” Once being diagnosed, you
will gain extra tools in your belt to understand the “enemy.” If you choose to use the tools, you CAN win this particular battle and the enemy (your body) can
slowly start becoming your friend once again. It all comes down to Acceptance. If you can accept that your Body
is changing (whether you like it or not) and that your mindset must change with
it, this battle goes down in your History as being a turning point in the long
war that is Fibromyalgia. By listening to your body, you may feel like you are
surrendering to it; and in a way you are. But by doing so you will gain the
upper-hand and become triumphant once more!
Battle #3: I know I
should listen to my doctor and exercise, but my body tells me, “No way, Jose!”
This is a battle I still fight each and every day. Even in
my younger
years, I associated exercise with pain. It was just a little more bearable
back then since I loved marching band and teaching dance was one of my jobs. By
now I’m sure you know there is currently no cure for Fibromyalgia, you should
also know that there are very few remedies researchers have found that work.
One remedy that has proven to work time and time again is exercise. I know; how
in the heck should Fibromites be expected to exercise when we are fatigued and hurt
all over? Well, here’s how: In terms of Fibro, exercise takes on a new
definition with each Fibromite. Just like each person’s pain is different, the
amount of activity that can be done differs with each individual. Once again,
IT’S OK. This is another one I’ve had a hard time coming to terms with. Just
because I used to be able to leap in the air and do the splits, doesn’t mean
that in order to exercise I have to throw myself back into an Advanced Ballet
class. (Trust me, I
tried. It was kind of tragic. Follow the link if you want a good laugh,
though.)
I understand that in Battle #2 I told you to listen to your
body. Now it’s going to seem like I’m contradicting that very statement. I’m
not, though; just consider this a grey area. In the times you feel like you
just can’t move, the BEST thing you can do for yourself is to move (in most cases.) Your worst enemies in this battle are
both your Mind AND Body. How? By being in pain, your Body is going to
discourage you from feeling like you can do one of the two things researchers
have found helps everyone with Fibro: EXERCISE!!! I’m not talking about running
a marathon or lifting weights. If you know me at all, I have proclaimed running is against my religion since the 7th grade.
I have learned from my support
group meetings that some of us walk with canes, some have to wear back and
leg braces, and some of us have other illness’ that accompany our Fibro. But
when we do our movement exercises as a group, everyone can participate. We do
some of our stretching while sitting in chairs, some standing up, and some
sitting on the floor. Just doing a small amount of movement allows blood to
flow through our achy muscles and tired joints. It is the movement and energy
flowing through our body that allows us to flush the pain/toxins out of the nerves.
What happens when we get tired and we’re hurting? We lie down or sit down,
often for long periods of time. Don’t get me wrong, I know resting is a huge
part of feeling better; but if we only
rest and never move, the energy and toxins in our nerves/muscles have nowhere
to go. Instead, they stay put and muster, resulting in even more pain.
Battle #4: Mind over Matter
I can confidently say this is a touchy phrase for all of us. At some point in time, I'm sure some idiot, (pardon my honesty), has said to you, "You can control the pain. It's just mind over matter!"...or something along those lines. And as we all know, if we could simply will the pain away, we would have a LONG time ago. While we don't have control over the fact we have been given this chronic illness burden to bear, we do have control over some of the things that make our pain worse. I feel that its extremely important for any person with a chronic illness to take responsibility over the things they can control. We are our own advocates when it comes to our health, and when the effort is put forth, there are ways to make our quality of life the best it can be in spite of chronic illness. It is OUR responsibility to do that though. Not our doctors, not our caregivers, spouses, not even the medication. While we would love to depend 100% on all of those people/things, the only thing we can truly depend on is ourselves. No one will ever know our bodies like we do. If we listen close enough, our bodies tell us exactly what we need. However, until we've accepted our new friend Fibro, for better or worse, we won't be in the right head space to be able to utilize all of the tools and hints our body gives us to make our lives better. We most work with the universe, not against it.
In my own personal struggle with Fibromyalgia, I have triumphed over Battles #1 and #2 (for the most part). My biggest struggle remains Battle #3. To this day, I have the hardest time finding the motivation to
get up off my bum and stretch or just simply move around. The fact that I am
able to do so little compared to what I used to be able to do often discourages
me. I feel like the little bit I am able
to do is insignificant. THIS IS WRONG.
I am wrong. (Go ahead and mark it
down in your calendars folks.) The truth of the matter is, when it comes to
Fibromyalgia, every little thing helps. I feel like Battle #4 is a daily battle for me. Some days I want to lie down and blame the whole world. But on my good days, I get up, take responsibility for myself, and I fight like hell.
<No matter which battle you're currently in, please feel free to reach out to me for support. If you’re discouraged about movement/stretching/exercise or if you're interested in learning relaxation techniques, I would
be happy to make recommendations that are simple based on what you are able to
do!>
love your blog!
ReplyDeleteCan relate to all that you say! word-vomiting works exceptionally well, thanks for sharing. :-)
ReplyDelete