Celebrate the resilience of Fibromyalgia warriors, sharing stories of strength, tips for managing symptoms, and resources for support and empowerment.
**Subject matter in this article may be a trigger for depression, suicide & self harm.** This is a post I have been thinking about for a while but couldn’t decide if I wanted to actually write it. Writing about my physical illness is hard enough, but my mental status feels even more intimate. Can I make myself even more vulnerable than I already have? Can I say anything that would be helpful to anyone else,…
Mom Guilt (Dad Guilt), we all have had it at one time or another. I know this because we can’t all be perfect, so sometimes we are going to mess up or disappoint our kids. Even the healthiest of moms (dads) is going to have some mom (dad) guilt over her (his) inadequacies. However, having a chronic illness like Fibromyalgia and being a mom (dad) comes with its own set of “mom (dad) guilt feelings”.…
Do you succumb to the thought process of New Year, New You? I do not, and I will tell you why. First of all, having a chronic pain illness often limits my mobility. Really, the term “new you” sounds awesome, but is unrealistic for someone with an incurable condition. Do I really want to set myself up for failure? I don’t think so. However, there are so many ways to get some exercise in your…
In my article What You Need To Know About Endometriosis, I give you a background on endometriosis. Click the link to learn more about what the condition is. This article is an interview with a Fibromyalgia Warrior, Jennifer. She answers questions so readers can see what it is like to live with Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia. She will also give you insight into her tips on how she manages her co-morbid conditions. Name and Age: Jennifer…
Have you ever looked at a list of Fibromyalgia symptoms? Looking at these two websites you will see both anxiety and depression listed as symptoms. Here are two reputable websites as proof: WebMD and NFMCPA In fact, it seems that fibromyalgia symptoms and mental health are very much linked together. One could say that fibromyalgia is like a spider web, so many facets (co-morbid conditions) moving out from the center. Our Mission: Connection Between Fibromyalgia…
I had the great pleasure of meeting Amanda from Imagine Life Therapy on Instagram. As you all know, my subject matter has been focusing on mental health and how it affects our chronic illness. You can go back and read the start of the series called Fibromyalgia & Mental Health. So, I was wondering how emotional therapy could benefit fibromyalgia, if at all. I am so excited to share this interview with you. I hope…
How many of us fighting fibromyalgia are also fighting endometriosis? What is that like and how do we deal with it? Amanda Pratt LCSW, CPLC, has so graciously answered my questions about her endometriosis and fibromyalgia symptoms. Amanda gives us some amazing advice and tips on dealing with endometriosis symptoms. How old were you when diagnosed with Fibromyalgia? When I was 29 years old, second semester in graduate school at the University of Michigan. Click…
This is a guest post from a fellow Fibromyalgia Warrior. Vicki tells us her journey with her mental health issues. In addition, we learn how hard it is to get diagnosed when you have fibromyalgia and then get appropriate treatment. Vicki tells us how the trauma in her life has exasperated her fibromyalgia and other ailments. Vicki’s Road to fibromyalgia diagnosis I was diagnosed almost a year and a half ago; after a year and…
You never want to hear your doctor say, “your brain MRI came back abnormal.” The fear and panic that goes through your body in this moment is overwhelming. My MRI revealed a pituitary adenoma. I know there are so many of you out there that have gone through this same situation and know just how I felt. For those that have never experienced this, I have written this article to spread awareness. What is a…
I have several chronic illnesses and have tried many different treatment options to improve my symptoms for all of them. My illnesses include: fibromyalgia, arthritis, endometriosis, hypopituitarism, pituitary adenoma, irritable bowel syndrome, rashes, restless leg syndrome and I think that is it, but I could be forgetting something. The medications that I have taken for these illnesses have caused me greater side effects than benefits. That is what led me to a holistic doctor and…