We are living a time of crisis.
Fears of disease, coupled with economic uncertainty, make for a lot of stress.
Some of us have been also living with a personal crisis for years.
Our bodies ache and we tire easily.
Pain moves around and we never know from day to day how we are going to feel.
It’s called living with fibromyalgia.
If you’re doing it right, you are better prepared to confront whatever else is lurking.
By “doing it right,” I mean doing everything you can to improve your health.
Doing it right will likely mean lifestyle changes, if you haven’t already. Diet changes.
You may need to learn more about natural medicine.
You might need to spend money to consult with natural healers.
(If you don’t have a lot of money, I highly recommend seeing what your insurance plan offers. One suggestion would be to find an open minded primary care physician, with an interest in natural medicine. I firmly believe these doctors exist. But they mostly see patients who want drug-based solutions, so they accommodate them.)
If you’ve been focusing on your overall health, you are likely already doing good things for your immune system.
Fibromyalgia and Times of Crisis – The Good News
I’ve been forced to upgrade my lifestyle
By necessity.
At one point, more than a decade ago, I lived with severe pain.
My muscle spasms were so bad that sometimes I couldn’t even walk across a room.
I had obvious problems getting around.
All of this happened when my children were young. But I was too sick to take care of them. Too sick to cook a meal.
It was a long slow road back to better health.
That’s because my condition seemed to be caused by a poor diet, coupled with a lot of stress.
One positive move I made was to cut a couple of very toxic deceptive people out of my life. Yes, I firmly believe there’s a connection between fibromyalgia and narcissistic abuse.
I’ve spent years learning about stress reduction techniques, such as EFT “Tapping.” This is a simple exercise that involves “tapping” on meridians located in your upper body. Although it sounds crazy, tapping is backed by science.
Also, I’ve taken a lot of homeopathic remedies. These have been individually prescribed, in order to address my specific symptoms.
I have professional homeopaths I can consult with. But I’ve also spent a lot of time studying this amazing natural health system on my own.
Homeopathy is real medicine. In fact, it was once a predominant form of medicine in the United States. About one-third of all hospitals were homeopathic. Some hospitals still carry the name Hahnemann, named after Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, MD, the founder of modern homeopathy.
I highly recommend homeopathy for anyone with chronic pain, no matter what the cause. This is one of the healing techniques that has helped my body recover, to the point where pain is no longer front and center in my life.
Through the years, I’ve also used homeopathy to support my body when I have a cold or the flu.
Homeopathy has a long history of being used for all sorts of ailments, including pain and upper respiratory infections.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that living with chronic pain prepares us for the unique challenges of confronting a crisis, such as the one we’re in now.
Changing Your Diet Because Of Pain
No one would argue that highly processed food is better than real food.
Upgrading my diet was one of the most important steps I took on the road to better health.
Interestingly, eating better also improved my mood and my outlook. My stress level seemed to fall.
Even the very mainstream health site WebMD notes that what we eat can influence our emotions.
It’s well accepted within the medical community that a good diet helps your immune system;
Right now everyone needs to think about their immune system, and their resistance to infections.
Many of us in the fibromyalgia community have been eating real food for years.
So we’re already putting healthy fuel into our bodies, which will help our immune systems.
Real food for me means very little processed food. I make occasional exceptions for gluten-free, dairy-free GMO treats, such as Daiya mock cheesecake. When I’m really busy I will have some processed turkey breast. But it’s USDA-certified organic, without added nitrates.
Fibromyalgia And Mental Stress
For me, navigating a national crisis is easier when you’ve had practice.
You already know things don’t always work out the way you’d like.
You’re used to pain, mental and physical.
The old saying that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is true.
We’ve been mentally strengthened by our battle with chronic pain. We’ve learned to adapt and, hopefully, thrive.
So, in a way, fibromyalgia has prepared us for this present battle.
We already know how to survive when our world is falling apart.
Managing Chronic Pain Without Drugs
I don’t use drugs to manage my chronic pain. Instead, it’s been a huge lifestyle overhaul, combined with various natural healing methods. Basically, throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. You can read about what “stuck” for me below, in easy to follow online course called Natural Pain Management Strategies.
