It’s been shown that stress and pain are irreversibly linked to fibromyalgia. In some cases, being under a lot of stress is what initally has triggered it. Fibromyalgia sometimes will manifest after a serious illness, or an emotional of some kind. Although not certain, a genetic tendency toward fibromyalgia appears likely, and many people believe that stress unmasks the disorder. Therefore, it makes sense to reduce stress to reduce fibromyalgia pain.
Fibromyalgia is believed to be a central nervous system disorder in which either pain-sensing nerves are overly sensitive, or the brain is very sensitive to pain impulses. Those who have this disease have poor functioning of the HPA axis-hpyophysis-pituitary-adrenal axis- in other words….. our body’s system for responding to stress with neurochemicals such as adrenalin and serotonin.
How pain sensation and an abnormal stress response are related is not known, but we do understand that people with fibromyalgia have increased pain when under a lot of stress.
It is very stressful just knowing you have fibromyalgia. Having to cope with chronic pain, fatigue and mental cloudiness is very challenging and difficult. It may affect a person’s ability to keep their job, which only adds to the stress. That can lead to financial difficulties as well. Because many people do not understand what you are going through, they may expect you to behave “normally”.
Learning how to cope with a chronic illness and lifestyle changes is stressful. That’s the typical daily stress load; adding anything to it often tips the scale and, as a result, the fibromyalgia symptoms will tend to get worse.
For these reasons stress reduction is crucial in managing your fibromyalgia. These ways may help alleviate some of it.
1. Take good care of yourself first This includes eating a nutritious diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, getting enough exercise and restful sleep. You won’t be able to do as much and may feel worse if you don’t look after yourself before anything else.
2. Be aware of your body so you can recognize your body’s cues that you are becoming stressed. Then you can make use of relaxation techniques or exercise in the early stages, before the stress gets out of hand. However, you don’t want to lose your protective lack of awareness about pain. Pay attention to how you feel so you can identify where you feel stress first. Does it start with your shoulders get tight? Once you have that figured out, you can scan to see if your body is showing signs of stress
3. You may find it helpful to keep a journal. A journal can be your tool to assist you in finding situations that cause tension so you can either avoid them in the future, or be better prepared to handle them if they can’t be prevented. Writing about the stressful event in itself can help you release it.
4. Practice stress management techniques. This can include meditation, deep breathing and visualization. These techniques reduce neurochemicals levels that circulate in your body, and help decrease both stress and pain.
5. Physiotherapy, massage and stretching can reduce muscle tension and stress and as a result keep pain at a minimum as well.
These are some was to reduce stress and reduce the fibromalgia pain as a result. Taking good care of yourself, which may require some lifestyle changes can reduce the incidents of flare-ups and give you a better quality of life.
About the Author
For more information on how to reduce stress and reduce fibromyalgia pain using natural therapies visit EliminateFibromyalgia.com.
