Posts by Fibromyalgia Support Network

By Irene Roth, Blog Editor/Writer

I’m in the throes of a fibro flare today. But I decided to write, anyway. There are such moments when my life becomes so difficult and I feel so alone. I have difficulty focusing. My body hurts all over. My neck really aches and my head actually feels heavy. Not sure why. I don’t know enough about anatomy. But I know that fibro flares have widespread pain, and there’s nothing I can do about that.

So how can I ensure that I can accept my predicament? Probably by not fighting it and accepting this as my new reality from time to time. What we fight tends to grow. What’s more, we stress ourselves out by fighting what is. The more stress we feel, the more pain we feel. And we may even be bringing on a fibro flare, possibly by fighting it.

Also, by not fighting our pain and fatigue, we can become more resilient. People who live with fibro struggle with debilitating pain and various comorbidities, which can snap the joy right out of life. It’s very hard to live with fibro and still enjoy life unless we change our mindset.

Here are a few positive resiliency traits of individuals living with fibro.

*1. We are resilient. Fibro is challenging and complex to live with. We have to learn how to bounce back quickly, dogging triggers and attacks, or recover from them. This is a fundamental part of coping with the pain and fatigue of fibro, as well as all its comorbidities.

*2. We experience a lot of strength. We are able to tough out the debilitating symptoms and get our lives back on track quickly. Fibro flares are like battles. We must fight through them to get to the other wide as best as we can so that we can get back to living our lives.

*3. We are empathic. Because we struggle with so much pain, we are able to empathize when others are struggling as well. Seeing and understanding another’s pain, struggles, and difficulties are innate abilities we pick up along the way.

*4. We appreciate others with sincerity and without the expectation of anything in return. We accept help and know that without our tribe, we couldn’t survive on those hard days.

*5. We develop courage. Fibro knocks us down more often than we’d like to admit. Yet, we continue to have the courage to get backup and keep trying. This is because we face adversity often. This makes us stronger and more able to keep on living our best life.

By recognizing the amazing resiliency traits that we can develop over time because of living with fibro, we can be proud of ourselves. And when we have hard days, and yes, there will be quite a few, we can rejoice that we’re able to cope and find some modicum of peace in a day that’s riddled with pain and fatigue.

By Irene Roth, Blog Editor/Writer

Let’s face it, living with fibro can be very difficult. Life can be an uphill battle. However, there are many things we can do to lessen our burden and stress levels. Decluttering your life is one of those things that can help you feel more organized, less stressed, and more productive.

There are two types of clutters: physical and mental. Both can cause a lot of undue stress and exhaustion for individuals. Why? Because physical clutter can cause stress, which in turn can result in a feeling that our life is out of control. But also, stress can cause more pain and fatigue, something that fibro warriors have to struggle through anyway.

Here are some tips to help you declutter your life so that you can make space for what’s most important.

Start by decluttering your physical space

Begin by decluttering your living space, including your home, office, and car. Get rid of things you no longer need, use, or love. Donate or sell items in good condition, recycle or trash items that are no longer usable.

Simplify your digital life

Declutter your digital space by deleting old files, organizing your email inbox, and removing unused apps from your devices.

Prioritize your time

Identify the most important tasks and activities in your life and focus your time and energy on those. Eliminate or delegate tasks that are not essential or that drain your energy.

Say no often

Learn to say no to invitations, commitments, and requests that are not aligned with your values or priorities.

Practice mindfulness

Take time to reflect on your thoughts and emotions and let go of negative self-talk and limiting beliefs that hold you back.

Set boundaries

Set boundaries with people and situations that drain your energy or cause you stress. Learn to say no to things that don’t align with your values or priorities.

Remember that decluttering your life is a process, and it may take time to see the results. But by taking small steps every day, you can create a more organized, peaceful, and fulfilling life.  These practices can help you feel less stressed and much more positive and energized.

by Irene Roth, Blog Editor/Writer
Many of us tend to overthink and overdo. We are busy and always going. But this is to the peril of our health and well-being when we become chronically ill. Fibromyalgia will present us with pain and fatigue on a daily basis. Therefore, it’s important to give ourselves some space to just be. The best way to give yourself some much-needed space is to take some time every day to sit and do nothing and meditate.
Mental space is an ambiguous term. It can mean different things to different people. But for most of us, mental space is something we know exists and we even recognize its importance. But we know so little about how to bring it about or even if we aren’t wasting.
Obviously, when our mind is cluttered, it is so hard to focus. To execute what we are working on and to be effective. We cannot give our attention one hundred percent attention because you’re not mentally available. Our mind is full of unrelated stuff.
The hard thing to realize is when we’re in a state of mental fog, our responsibilities, tasks, and deadlines don’t go away. We’ve still got to attend to all these things, even though our mind is overloaded. And this takes even more stress and frustration, making us even more exhausted.
If you feel overwhelmed and want to change your life so that you include more times where you give yourself some mental space, you should take the time to acknowledge the lack of mental space and take small steps to work towards decluttering your mental space every day. More on this below.
It can be hard to decipher what’s going on in our heads. Whether that’s talking about mental health, our battles with motivation, or just adjusting with the situations and people we must deal with daily. All of this takes mental energy. For a mind that is already cluttered, it takes extra energy and leads to even more frustration.
Just because defining what mental space means can be difficult, it doesn’t mean we should ignore it. Mental space is so necessary to function healthily and to reach our full potential. This is especially the case for those living with fibromyalgia. It takes so much energy for us to even function on a basic level. However, the bad news is that if we keep overdoing it, we will feel increasingly stressed out and overwhelmed.
Trying to manage our work and mental space takes preparation, much like preparing to cook a meal. Before we start cooking, we need to clear our kitchen space. This usually involves wiping down tabletops, clearing unnecessary items away and washing dishes.
Why must we do this? Because we need to make the space to put our ingredients out and the freedom and flexibility to move around our kitchen.
A similar approach can be applied to daily tasks and projects. We need mental space to clear our mental clutter in order to complete our tasks and to be the best we can be.
Here are a few ways our mind becomes cluttered with stuff that only later frustrates us and causes unnecessary anxiety.
• Worrying about future events can take up your mental space.
• Being needlessly distracted by things that inadvertently sneak into our lives.
• Having way too much to do in a given day.
• Boundary violations by others, asking us to do things that we don’t have time and space to do anyway.
• Taking on too many assignments at work.
• Taking care of too many people, even those who don’t appreciate you at all.
• Feeling unappreciated and unloved, despite overdoing it and doing way more than you should be.
• Having needless arguments with others.
• Living in stressful situations where you don’t feel fulfilled or appreciated.
• Running unconsciously from one thing to the other unconsciously,
So, how can we unclutter our mental space? Here are a few things to consider:
• Take the time to acknowledge that you need to declutter your mental space. If you don’t, you will keep going just as you have been all along.
• Make time to do things you love and enjoy every day.
• Meditate once or twice a day.
• Make the time to do nothing for 30 minutes to an hour every day, depending on how much free time you can give yourself.
• Cut some time-wasting habits, such as continuously checking your email or surfing the internet when you should be doing other fun activities that you enjoy.
• Finish what you start. When you finish something, you may want to give yourself a time out and do something you enjoy, such as go out for a coffee with friends or lunch.
• Try to get some much-needed rest, such as sleep. Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. A good night’s sleep can melt away the stresses of the previous day and clear up mental space.
• Schedule some time to think every day. Take 15 minutes and think about what went well and what didn’t on a particular day. You may want to journal about this.
By taking these steps, you will be decluttering your life, one day and one moment at a time. As a result, you will be healthier, happier, and you will get a lot more done.
For an individual living with fibro, the benefits are multiplied. When you give yourself some mental space, you won’t feel as frustrated, anxious, or exhausted. This can result in reduced pain, fatigue, and better sleep. What a great plus!