Reduce Stress And Reduce Your Fibromyalgia Symptoms
Stress and pain are irreversibly linked in fibromyalgia. For
many people, some kind of stressful event is what initially
triggers fibromyalgia. It often shows up after a serious
illness, some kind of emotional or mental shock or with PTSD
(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). There is probably a genetic
tendency toward fibromyalgia, and many people believe that
stress unmasks the disorder.
Fibromyalgia is thought to be a central nervous system disorder
in which either pain-sensing nerves are excessively sensitive,
or the brain is extremely sensitive to pain impulses. People
with fibromyalgia have poor functioning of the HPA
axis?hpyophysis-pituitary-adrenal axis?which is our body?s
system for responding to stress with neurochemicals like
adrenalin and serotonin. We don?t know how pain sensation and
an abnormal stress response are related, but we do know that
people with fibromyalgia experience more pain when they are
stressed.
Just having fibromyalgia is stressful. Dealing with constant
pain, fatigue and mental cloudiness is stressful. Not being
able to accomplish things is stressful, especially if it
affects your employment situation. That can lead to financial
stress. The fact that few people understand what you are going
through and expect you to behave ?normally? is stressful.
Dealing with a chronic illness and lifestyle changes is
stressful. That?s the everyday stress load; adding anything to
it tends to tip the scale and cause the fibromyalgia symptoms
to be worse.
Stress reduction is an important part of managing your
fibromyalgia. Here are a few ways that may help alleviate some
of your stress.
1. Good self care. Eating a nutritious diet, getting the right
amount of the right kind of exercise, establishing regular
sleep habits and giving yourself grace are all part of taking
good care of yourself. They are important. You will feel worse,
and be able to do less if you do not take care of yourself.
2. Practice body awareness. People who deal with chronic pain,
as in fibromyalgia, become accustomed to ignoring their bodies;
it?s one way they cope with the pain. If you learn to recognize
your body?s cues that you are becoming tense, you can use a
relaxation technique or exercise early on, before stress
becomes unmanageable. At the same time, you don?t want to lose
that protective lack of awareness about pain. Take breaks every
so often and just sit quietly and pay attention to how you feel.
Learn where you feel stress first. Do you get heartburn? Do your
shoulders get tight? Once you learn that, you can periodically
scan to see if your body is showing tension.
3. Change the way you think. This takes practice, but it gives
you a chance to respond to situations instead of reacting.
4. Keep a stress journal. This has two purposes. You can
journal about stressful incidents and use the journal as a tool
to help you identify situations that are stressful to you. This
can help you either avoid repeating these situations or be
better prepared should they be unavoidable. Journaling about a
stressful event also helps you debrief and de-stress after the
event.
5. Learn stress management techniques, such as visualization,
meditation and breathing. These techniques decrease the level
of neurochemicals circulating in your body, and help decrease
both stress and pain.
6. Physical therapy, stretching and massage can help decrease
muscle tension and stress, and help minimize pain.
7. Talk to a counselor who specializes in stress management and
pain treatment. He or she can help you learn new ways to manage
stressful events.
If you decrease your stress, you will probably experience less
pain and fatigue from your fibromyalgia. Changing your
lifestyle so that you are taking care of yourself can help
prevent flare-ups and give you a better quality of life.
About The Author: Jane Thompson has an interest in
Fibromyalgia. For further information on Fibromyalgia please
visit http://www.eliminatefibromyalgia.com/fibromyalgia.html or
http://www.eliminatefibromyalgia.com/blog/2006/09/19/reduce-stress-and-reduce-your-fibromyalgia-symptoms/
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