Posted by TENA/DIAMOND on 4/17/2009, 3:14 pm
Fibromyalgia Tips for Coping
Are you looking for some everyday tips for fibromyalgia symptoms? You're not alone. More than 10 million Americans suffer daily with the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia. There is no "pill" to end fibromyalgia symptoms. But there are ways of managing symptoms to keep them from disrupting your busy life.
Why is coping with fibromyalgia important?
Learning how to self-manage symptoms with medications, diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits is vital to improve your mood, improve your sleep, and get relief from fibromyalgia pain. For instance, many people with fibromyalgia are often caring for others, either by parenting or care giving. Yet they allow little time to take care of their own health and well-being. This is a problem because a chronic disease such as fibromyalgia comes with a whole set of limitations. Those limitations stem from fibromyalgia tender points, chronic fatigue, and ongoing pain and stiffness.
The limitations of fibromyalgia can be lessened if you get the facts. Learn more about fibromyalgia and how it's treated. Seek the latest information on fibromyalgia and lifestyle habits. Get answers to your questions about fibromyalgia, and take proactive steps to focus on your health. With increased fibromyalgia support, you can get your life and priorities in order.
Here are some simple coping strategies you can use to help yourself live well with fibromyalgia:
Minimize stress in your life. There's speculation that stress may play an important role in triggering fibromyalgia symptoms. In fact, many people with fibromyalgia tell of feeling anxious, nervous, and panicked around the time when fibromyalgia symptoms flare. Some experts find that when fibromyalgia patients reduce stress in their lives, they also experience a reduction in depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Sleep becomes more restful and their minds relax. Because they feel more in control, the symptoms that were once immobilizing subside, and quality of life improves.
Remove yourself emotionally from stressful situations. Sometimes, people magnify problems, making them seem far greater than they are. The stress reaction is triggered by perception. When you imagine something to be a "life or death situation," even though in reality it isn't, your body reacts as if you are in danger. Work at tempering your emotions as problems come up throughout the day. Instead of seeing every crisis as "horrible," learn to view life's interruptions as "inconvenient, but tolerable." You will find that when you see life as something that you can easily handle, you will not feel overpowered when trouble comes.
Make job site modifications. To keep working part-time or full-time, you must stay mentally and physically able to handle your job responsibilities. But to avoid stress and anxiety, you may need to allow more time during the day to get your responsibilities done. Talk to your employer and work out a flexible schedule that allows you to come in later and leave later. Or ask your employer if you can work at home two mornings a week so you can get more rest or take a nap at lunch time to boost your energy. Whatever modifications you make, avoid procrastination. Budget your time, follow your daily "To Do" lists, and limit your outside commitments on work days.
Work to improve communication skills. Communication is also important with a chronic illness like fibromyalgia. Open and honest communication helps decrease conflict between you and your spouse, family, friends, and co-workers. This is especially true when you feel angry or resentful over having unending pain and fatigue. The mental distraction that comes from preoccupation with your illness can hinder productive communication. If you feel overwhelmed with the stress of fibromyalgia, psychological counseling can help you develop appropriate and functional communication strategies to deal with your disease and other issues in your life.
Learn to say "no."Failing to set personal limits or not saying "no" to too many demands will put you in overload. That will add to your already elevated stress level. To help yourself say "no" to a persuasive friend think through the situation before you answer. Check your calendar, and weigh the alternatives. Involve family members or friends in the discussion about what to do. Would another commitment stop you from getting the rest, exercise, and relaxation you need to feel well? Would it interfere with the priorities that are high on your list? The desire to help others is commendable. But being all things to all people may be hindering your healing and making you feel resentful, tired, and depressed. It's important to take a firm stand, say "no," and mean it.
Keep a daily journal. Writing in a journal every day can become a great tool for self inquiry. Some people are able to identify a series of events that are associated with the beginning of fibromyalgia symptoms. That can help them understand how and when symptoms start. Keeping a journal can also assist you in tracking your muscle pain and fatigue and in identifying what may cause them. For example, you may write in your journal that you are having great pain and feeling exhausted after doing yard work with fibro for several days. Months later, you might look back on this entry and perhaps recognize a pattern that identifies a relationship between your increased fibromyalgia symptoms and certain lifestyle triggers. Or perhaps you haven't slept well in days. Looking back over your journal may enable you to see any emotional or physical problems that have contributed to your sleep problem.
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