MUSCLE AND SKELETAL PAIN: FIBROMYALGIA: SELF-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

There is no known a cure for fibromyalgia, but the symptoms can be managed. Managing fibromyalgia is a process of making wise choices and changes that will positively affect the overall state of your health. Effective treatments for fibromyalgia include a variety of strategies that you can perform, such as moderating activities, limiting pain behaviors, managing stress, improving sleep habits, exercising daily and stretching.

Moderation

Many people who suffer from fibromyalgia have difficulty moderating activities. For example, when you feel strong and energetic, do you tend to overdo it or over-exert yourself? Do you try to do extra errands and chores in a short amount of time to catch up on work you missed? If so, you may pay for overdoing it.

Some people engage in self-limiting behavior by giving up regular activities. They mistakenly believe that normal activity will make their pain worse or will result in injury. You should try to break the cycle of self-limiting behavior or overdoing and replace it with moderation. Developing a scheduled routine of normal daily activities is encouraged. To do so, you will need to moderate the use of extra energy when you are feeling good in order to avoid overdoing. Moderation is a skill that may enable you to continue your daily activities in spite of increased discomfort and fatigue.

Pain Behaviors

Pain behaviors are actions or responses that let others know or remind you that you are experiencing pain. Pain behaviors often become habits and can be used as a way to try to escape from pain or to obtain care and support from others. Pain behaviors, however, do not alter pain or make it better.

Pain behaviors may include such actions as:

· Limping

· Crying

· Groaning

· Grimacing

· Staying in bed

· Using protective posture

· Rubbing the affected area

· Talking about pain or symptoms

· Limiting activity

· Withdrawing from others

Pain behaviors usually lose their usefulness with time, but some people continue to engage in these behaviors as a habit. Often, pain behaviors become a social problem that may isolate you from friends and family. It is best to be aware of any pain behaviors that you may be using and to try to eliminate them.

Stress Management

Stress is a natural, normal force that affects everyone. Stress can be the result of life events that are beyond your control, or stress can be the result of daily "hassles" that build up until they become overwhelming. Sometimes you may feel that there is no escape from the stress you feel in your life and it may seem as if stress is a destructive force. If you think of stress as your reaction to an event, rather than the event itself, it becomes easier to identify ways to cope with stress.

Identifying stressors in your life (those events that cause you to become "stressed") is the first step toward taking charge of those stressors.

Stress often is associated with the difficult things we deal with, but stress can come from things that are positive or pleasurable, such as moving, job changes, getting married or having a baby. Examine the sources of stress in your life to help you cope.

There are some stressors that you do have some control over, while there are other events that are beyond your control. Focus on what you can control. You can turn stress into energy that can be directed toward growth, possibility, and change.

People's response to stress can take several forms including physical symptoms such as headache, increased pain, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and muscle tension. Others may react with various thoughts and feelings including feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, guilty, excited, happy, sad or defensive. Behaviors you may engage in when you are stressed include overeating or loss of appetite, increased habits such as smoking, drinking, gambling, isolating from friends or family, overreacting, procrastinating, perfectionism, becoming overly busy or engaging in scattered activity, among other things.

With practice, you can control your responses to stressful situations by:

· Identifying stressors

· Identifying which stressors you can control

· Using coping techniques when a stressor is beyond your control

· Reframing situations you can't control

· Practicing relaxation techniques

· "Letting go"

Healthy lifestyle behaviors may prevent the development of illness, as well as reduce the intensity of physical symptoms related to illness. Making healthy lifestyle choices may provide you with the resources to manage stress in your daily life and help decrease your symptoms of fibromyalgia.

You can work toward developing a more stress-resistant personality by doing the following:

· Make healthy lifestyle choices; take time to relax as well as to exercise. Get involved in activities that are meaningful to you (volunteer work, hobbies, etc.). Make a commitment to maintain a healthy and nutritious diet that is low in fat, moderate in calories, and high in fiber.

· Understand the amount of control you have over stressors.

· Control what you can, work to live with what you cannot control. (If you try to control what you can't possibly control, you will become overwhelmed and frustrated).

· Be an active part of a social support network; give support when you can and don't be afraid to ask for support when you need it.

· Keep your sense of humor!