With constant exposure to stimulants in our environment, people with fibromyalgia need to practice a natural therapy I call “intentional grounding”. Due to the fact that some people living with fibromyalgia cannot always travel in the same way as a non-fibro person (due to severity of symptoms) this becomes even more essential.
No, it’s not just for football anymore!!
Intentional grounding means getting out and away from all of our modern day devices and conveniences and getting “one” with the earth, the ground, with nature.
If you are like me, animals are one of the best ways to calm the mind and body. This day I was able to foster a baby goat by taking him back to camp for the afternoon. It truly warmed my heart when he went to sleep in my arms.
How often do you really take your shoes off and walk on the grass or on the sand at the beach or spend quiet time enjoying the sights and sounds of nature?
If you have been living with fibromyalgia for any amount of time, you likely experience excess “stimulation” on a regular basis. Because of our propensity to have overactive nerves and a heightened “alert”, the nervous and endocrine systems are too often “overworked and underpaid,” as I like to say.
With fibromyalgia, we are ultra-sensitive to many things in our environment. Radiation from computers and cell phones, lights, sounds, toxins, pollution, and the many stressors that we all experience on a daily basis.
In the workplace, at the shopping mall, driving, traveling, even in our own homes. My body is good at telling me when it’s time to get grounded. I start to get irritated, stressed, increased pain and/or symptoms or I simply begin to feel burned out. I almost start to “crave” the feeling of being able to take a time out.
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Fibro-Girl Says “You’re Grounded”
Speaking of “time outs”. Do you remember when you were young and you did something really bad? Did you get “grounded” for it? “You’re grounded!!”, your Mom or Dad would say. Or, you were sent to your room for a major TIME-OUT!!
Now as an adult, that doesn’t sound like such a BAD thing does it? As adults, we need to give ourselves more time outs, especially when living with a chronic illness such as fibromyalgia.
I like to go out in my backyard as often as possible (more so in the warmer months) spread out a towel on the grass and lie down. Looking up at the sky and connecting with nature, or watching my dog, Altoid, chasing squirrels, that’s what life is all about. If the sun is out, it’s a great time to soak in some vitamin D at the same time.
I might also do some light exercises. It’s really a great time for body awareness. (Now, don’t bring your cellphone with you; that defeats the purpose.) Seriously, we are so connected to our internet and social media these days, and it’s really affecting the well-being of so many people, with or without a chronic illness.
You know that feeling you get when you desperately need a vacation? Daily or weekly grounding can help to “satisfy” that burned out feeling we all experience at times. The reason we get overwhelmed is often due to a lack of rest, and a lack of being at “one” with the earth.
Natural Therapy Can Provide Healing “Negative Ions”
Another precious commodity is negative ions. The beach, just after a rain or maybe a waterfall all create negative ions which can help to bring a greater sense of well-being and connection. The more we expose ourselves to these wonders of the earth, the more we realize what really matters. The more we can detach ourselves from modern society, the better chance we have at reducing pain levels and symptoms through the endorphins, the body’s natural pain killer.
Being an “ultra-sensitive” MCS person, I feel everything in the environment. Living in the city doesn’t really feel like my personal ideal, so that makes it even more essential to create that sense of well-being in various ways.
A key to greater success for our natural therapy “Time-Outs” or “Intentional Grounding” practice is to set aside time every day. Maybe you have a day timer where you write down your daily action items. Maybe you have a timer that reminds you when it is time to decompress and wind it down.
See, we all have things to do, and the truth is that many of us will put other things and other people first. Sometimes that is necessary, but when we have a chronic illness, we cannot afford to do that on a regular basis.
Balance and Breathing
I know, I get it as I am a caretaker as well. Working in the holistic health field and being a person who likes to help others, I have had to continually find that balance. Let me say, that when we do find that balance, it is priceless. Natural therapy can help you achieve this. I never realized how much so until I started taking more weekend trips to the North Georgia mountains, a one-hour drive from our home.
Chronic stress and multi-tasking are not normal for our bodies to endure on a regular basis. Now throw a chronic illness on top of that, and we have a recipe for burnout and worsening of all symptoms. We cannot tolerate that. A “natural therapy” time-out calms the mind and body.
Don’t forget what we like to call 20 X 2. This means taking 20 minutes twice a day to engage some controlled breathing. Even just 10 minutes is fine too!! The point is to take the time for deliberate controlled breathing because as I often say ” people with fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions tend to be shallow breathers” This can also help to control over-eating, so taking time before meals is a great idea.
We have created the mind-body articles pages in the site here as a reminder and guidance as to the importance of natural therapy daily “time outs,” including deep breathing and meditation. I hope you will peruse those articles and see if they might guide you to greater relaxation and clarity about how you are currently coping with your conditions so you can make the changes you need to make.
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References:
Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly
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Official Fibromyalgia Blogs
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Fibromyalgia Stores
