So this if my very first office blog post about my journey with Fibromyalgia. My purpose, my mission in this life is to educate people about this illness, let those who have it know that it is not the end of a life, but the beginning of a new one, often times thought not what we had planned, a path to an enlightened future. Finding strengths we did not know we had, friendships that last beyond our years. For too long those afflicted with this have been treated as mental patients, or dismissed by the medical community. My goal is simple, to let those who have it know they are not alone. There is relief, there is help, support, you can have a life. This generation, and those before paving a path so that our children, and their children, do not have to go through what we have just to find the one thing that every fibro fighter needs. Hope.
In addition it has long been a fighter's stumbling block as to how one should explain having Fibro to someone who does not have it? How does one make the average healthy person understand the struggle we go through daily. Not only what we go through but one of the most tricky things, how emotional stress triggers physical pain. I think it is hard for us ourselves to understand why or how that happens but having fibro we know it does. So how do we explain it? The best so far I have come up with is this.
When one is enduring pain on a daily basis it is box taxing to the emotional and of course physical state of the person. The amount of concentration it takes for us to keep the volume turned down on our pain so we may function so we may "look normal" as so many like to remind us, is a good percentage of the total concentration many have period. A bit like meditating, we learn as a coping skill to almost tune out the pain so that we may simply get up, shower, get the kids to school, work ..etc. When we are hit with an emotional stresser, whether that be bills, relationships, loss in family, even random disagreement with someone, that takes our concentration away from turning down the pain volume, while we are devoting time and mental effort to that emotional issue the pain volume soon begins to go up, and for people with fibro once it reaches a certain level we are thrown into what is called a "flare" .. where we have no more control over this volume, we are left with no option but to let our body and mind recharge if you will, so that we may again gain control of the remote.
Hopefully this blog develops ..
In addition it has long been a fighter's stumbling block as to how one should explain having Fibro to someone who does not have it? How does one make the average healthy person understand the struggle we go through daily. Not only what we go through but one of the most tricky things, how emotional stress triggers physical pain. I think it is hard for us ourselves to understand why or how that happens but having fibro we know it does. So how do we explain it? The best so far I have come up with is this.
When one is enduring pain on a daily basis it is box taxing to the emotional and of course physical state of the person. The amount of concentration it takes for us to keep the volume turned down on our pain so we may function so we may "look normal" as so many like to remind us, is a good percentage of the total concentration many have period. A bit like meditating, we learn as a coping skill to almost tune out the pain so that we may simply get up, shower, get the kids to school, work ..etc. When we are hit with an emotional stresser, whether that be bills, relationships, loss in family, even random disagreement with someone, that takes our concentration away from turning down the pain volume, while we are devoting time and mental effort to that emotional issue the pain volume soon begins to go up, and for people with fibro once it reaches a certain level we are thrown into what is called a "flare" .. where we have no more control over this volume, we are left with no option but to let our body and mind recharge if you will, so that we may again gain control of the remote.
Hopefully this blog develops ..
- To be a source of strength and hope for those who are feeling like their Fibromyalgia is taking over.
- To take control of our own lives and not allow Fibromyalgia to control our lives for us.
- To provide a helping hand to the newly diagnosed and the friends/families of those diagnosed.
- To be a safe haven for those who just need to speak to others, whether or not they have experienced similar hardships or know someone who has.
We may have to endure this hardship for the rest of our lives, but hopefully by coming together and fighting back we can make this path easier for future generations to travel along. Even creating a road map for others to follow avoiding the detours we have taken. I truly believe that we are all born with a purpose in this life, no matter the struggles and hardships that are thrown in our way. Together, we can fight back. Together, we can take control.
"Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world right in the eye."
- Helen Keller
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