Fibromyalgia, Stress & My Body

We experience many different emotions and stressors during our lifetime and most of us experience some type stress all of the time. This triggered my thinking and I began to question how my body responds to stress, good or bad. Is stress good or bad, all good, or all bad? I guess it all depends on how we perceive and our bodies process stress. Our perception determines how the body interprets that stress. What kind of stress am I dealing with? Am I dealing with the stresses of yesterday, 20 or 30 year old stress, the stress from today, or the stress of tomorrow which has not even happened yet? Either way, I have stress that needs to be dealt with.

Fibromyalgia patients are thought to have struggled from some form of emotional trauma during their childhood years and as an adult, that stress manifests as Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia surface because stress in the form of pain all over body needs to be released. There are various types of stress agents known to trigger fibromyalgia pain such as family stress, stress from the job, marital stress, and other forms of health related stress. Some of these stressors are almost impossible to avoid unless you are the type of person who is fortunate enough to float through life as a stress proof super hero. And just to be clear, that would be a power I would love to have.

There are other events the body may consider stressful and could also be a trigger for fibromyalgia. Some of these conditions are part of the natural life cycle, like the birth of a child, death of a loved one, relationship inconsistencies or breakups, viral infections and injury have also been identified as stressful to the body and a possible trigger for fibromyalgia. Out of these possible triggers I know I can safely say I have experienced every one of them.

Based on my personal experiences, I can definitely confirm stress causes my fibromyalgia to flare up. As of late I have been experiencing stress coming at me from all angles. I am extremely exhausted, sleeping 12 to 15 hours a day and waking up as if I had never slept. So yes, it is safe to say I have a sleep disorder. I sleep eat, and talk in my sleep (more about this another time) which are symptoms of the medications I take along with symptoms of my fibromyalgia. It is almost like my mind never shuts down and is always processing things. My body feels as if I have been hit by a truck during my flares.

I take a daily regimen of antidepressants, immunosuppressants, and muscle relaxers. When I have migraines I add Tylenol to my daily cocktail to help take the edge off of my pain. I can no longer be treated for my migraines because of the various medications I take to treat my fibromyalgia. Even though I take many medications, I still suffer from pain everyday. The severity of the pain and the magnitude of my stress determines if the day is a good day or a bad day. For now I just tell myself to keep fighting, keep doing what I am doing to manage my pain. I may appear all put together on the outside, but on the inside I am fighting a war.