Fibromyalgia – what is it?

So…after years of confusing pain symptoms, discomfort, headaches, weird unexplained tiredness – you’ve been told you have Fibromyalgia!

Hooray! At last! Someone has recognised you have an illness!

….or have they….

or is the diagnosis just a copout for a series of unexplained pain symptoms.

And it’s a damned-side easier to give it a name so you can “own” that physical problem you are experiencing and take the drugs prescribed for that problem, knowing you are fixing yourself up….

with the help of your trusty doctor on your side to supply you with the prescriptions needed when you need them…

no questions asked.

Swimming, walking in water or any water activity is fantastic for fibromyalgia.

Water resistance changes the bodies patterns and strengthens it at the same time

You are probably on anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, anti anxiety pills, pain killers, sleeping tablets, laxatives or antidiarrheals, anticonvulsants.

These are often given in a specially chosen blend of carefully balanced dosages to work together. Can’t have one without the other now can we.

Have you looked at the side effects of those drugs you are popping? Or do you think it’s better not to know because they are easing the other problems you are having.

Have you thought that the medication you are now taking is masking (covering any other symptoms your body may be presenting to you) some other more important issues?

I’m not against Drs at all. They are simply providing a solution to a very large problem.

What I am against is the fact that people take these diagnoses and medications so eagerly, and continue on their merry way not looking at the possibility that there are some serious issues here that need to be addressed –  and other ways to deal with them.

The thing with any illness or malfunction of the body –  is that the body is trying desperately to let you know that “hey, there’s something not right here, something has to change and you need time to stop, re evaluate, rest and not think for a while“.

Thinking is our downfall.

We can think ourselves into anything and usually because of our limitations we only come up with solutions that we know about – not that we don’t know about. All information we hear, read or watch comes through our own limited filters, so even though we have so MUCH info on the net now we only hear what we want to and miss the other 80%.

We don’t choose to ignore it, we simply don’t even know it was there to begin with – that info is not in our set of  personal beliefs that we have built up over a lifetime.

So….whats happening in your life

• Is it what you expected?
• Are you happy in you relationship?
• Are your kids up to your expectations?
• Is your home as perfect as you wanted it to be?
• Are you broke?
• How’s your job?
• How’s you weight?
• How’s your diet?!
• Do you go through times when you would just like to drop everything and just leave to have the adventure you always wanted?
• Are you afraid of what will happen to you as you get older?

All the above are serious issues to be addressed – in your own time and in your own way. If they aren’t, the unhappiness and stress caused by them will impact your health.

Fine, I agree that sometimes some pills are a good option, after all, these are trying times and we are all trying desperately to keep up, to maintain our jobs to pay the bills and maintain our lifestyles and reach the dreams we have put in place. But please have a look at adding some other tools to change your life as well.

Use the medication to get you through the tough time initially, monitor yourself, look at changing some of the life situations I mentioned above that just aren’t doing it for you anymore.

Bowen helps by easing the pain in your body, relaxing the muscles, easing the headaches, boosting the immune system, relaxing you so you sleep deeper – and often it can give the kick needed to talk more openly with your Dr to manage the ‘illness’ interactively.

With more self control and choices you can gradually take back control of your life again and get to move on with more choices, more joy and much less pain and medication.

There are times I receive a person with fibromyalgia who demands (yep -I didn’t say “asks”) for a deep, painful massage “because that the only thing that helps”. I used to do this for them but now I refuse, it’s not a good option.

It provides the demanding personality type a place to be pleased – I’m not a good people pleaser.

A deep massage can damage the muscles, the amount of pressure that needs to be exerted to break the pattern of spasm is just harmful – it hurts me and them.

People have found relief with acupuncture, I think this is a great idea. Sometimes used in conjunction with Bowen Therapy it can work wonders.