I’m a man — an outdoor person — with fibromyalgia: I love backpacking, survival in the wild, biking, chasing, archery, agriculture, medieval rehabilitation, forest management, home building. Fibromyalgia has changed my life and identity while removing much of what I used to do to alleviate stress and anxiety. I have learned over time to redefine […]
A week ago, I wanted this article to be done. That’s fibromyalgia life: it’s always late because of pain flares that take you a day, a week, even a month. This week, I had a wedding to do, which was supposed to be fun, but it doesn’t really make a lot of fun when you […]
As young children, society teaches us that when we scratch our knees we do not cry. We learned how to hold the feeling of pain inside when we bruised our knees during soccer. You will hear the phrase, “Screw and bear it” in England, and that is just what we have done. So certainly, when […]
I’m a 44-year-old, fibromyalgia diagnosed for the first time in 1988. As a man, the worst thing about fibromyalgia is the criticism I received about “spending so much time in bed.” While it presents a range of problems for all of us who were affected. “To him, what’s wrong? “For years, it was a chant. […]
Health Log: Male aged 60 years. Good health; alert; in good shape physically for his age. All tests are negative, nothing organically wrong. Please much! Please! Eight years ago, that was. It is worthwhile to say that there is nothing wrong with the family physician and if you hurt, take a hot bath and do […]
Yoga movement and respiration, visualization and techniques of relaxation can decrease suffering and fatigue, lead to deeper sleep and stress. Inadequate exercises may cause increased distress, but adapted yoga should not cause adverse side effects. After a yoga session, most people immediately feel better. My students often report better sleep, less muscle stress and more […]
Diane Lewis enjoyed wild-kayaking off Vancouver Island’s north-western coast, in the middle of tumultuous greens, and the remains of First Nations houses and villages, when she didn’t help her patients as a nurse or a Hellerwork practitioner. She paddled easily and pulled gracefully, driving her across the water. But since three car crashen she had […]
Pilates can be an effective way of building muscle strength and relieving chronic muscle tension in people with fibromyalgia. Although many believe that Pilates’ approach focuses on abdominal muscles, the whole body is re-formed by focusing on the respiration and movement awareness. By stretching and strengthening muscles, opening joints and releasing tensions carefully, regular Pilates […]
For each patient the answer is different — but one thing for all is probably the same: the route to FM is seldom straightforward. It is sometimes an embush to trigger all the symptoms in one go. It meands on various routes and each one pushes one closer to an unintended destination, with various obstacles. […]
I find myself fighting to lift my sandwich, one night when my husband and I sit down for a delicious meal. It’s too loud! It’s too loud! It isn’t a sandwich, it’s just the regular meal I’ve ordered a lot. My arms can’t carry the weight literally. Will I be insane? I’m not saying anything, […]
When Linda started attending a support group for fibromyalgia (FM). She noticed the importance of having a positive attitude emphasized by the two ladies leading the meetings every month. Linda says her first reaction was, they are insane. They ‘re insane. How can I possibly be positive when I am so sorrowful? But she started […]
LIST IT Maybe in the morning you can make a list of the tasks you hope to perform that day while eating your breakfast. Or if you get too quick in the morning, try writing a list of the following day’s tasks at the end of each evening. Making them paper, rather than keeping them […]