Mental Health and Fibro?

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sydthewolf

New member
Joined
May 10, 2021
Messages
2
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
11/2020
Country
US
State
AZ
I've just been struggling with my mental health lately. Being constantly tired and in pain is edging me towards what feels like insanity. Not to mention all of my other possibly related mental health conditions. I'm so tired. I literally just joined today, so I know I have a lot to read, I just really need the support right now to get through this. Any suggestions?
 
Welcome, Syd! I am new myself, so not sure I can be of much help other than to tell you to read, read, read! Knowledge is power. My sanity wasn't great to begin with, then my mother died 3 months ago and I am struggling hard. I haven't been diagnosed yet (at least not with fibro), but I can't get an appt. with the rheumatologist until August. I feel what you are saying about being constantly tired and in pain, then throw in depression and anxiety and you feel like a total basket case. I haven't been here long, but everyone is in the same boat, so everyone is very supportive.
 
I've just been struggling with my mental health lately. Being constantly tired and in pain is edging me towards what feels like insanity. Not to mention all of my other possibly related mental health conditions. I'm so tired. I literally just joined today, so I know I have a lot to read, I just really need the support right now to get through this. Any suggestions?
I made a long post with all of my tried and true best advice for managing fibromyalgia (and other similar conditions would benefit from much of this as well). It is pinned at the top of the General forum. I suggest you read it and start implementing as many of those things as you can right away. Of course, it's a lot so don't think you have to do it all tomorrow! But whatever you can do among those things is very likely to be helpful for you.

I know the mental health concerns very well for myself. While I won't say I know how you feel, I know how it feels to me, and it's very challenging at times just to get through a day mentally, not to mention having chronic pain. I am here to help you and everyone else here as best I can. You are not alone, and if there's anything I can do like answering questions or just giving some support, let me know. We all want to help each other, and I wish you the best.
 
I made a long post with all of my tried and true best advice for managing fibromyalgia (and other similar conditions would benefit from much of this as well). It is pinned at the top of the General forum. I suggest you read it and start implementing as many of those things as you can right away. Of course, it's a lot so don't think you have to do it all tomorrow! But whatever you can do among those things is very likely to be helpful for you.

I know the mental health concerns very well for myself. While I won't say I know how you feel, I know how it feels to me, and it's very challenging at times just to get through a day mentally, not to mention having chronic pain. I am here to help you and everyone else here as best I can. You are not alone, and if there's anything I can do like answering questions or just giving some support, let me know. We all want to help each other, and I wish you the best.
Hi sunkacola, your post was very helpful to read. A lot of it I knew were things that could help, but hearing someone vouch for them made me believe in them a little more. I have been exercising and limiting my stress, even cutting back on medications that made things worse. One of my current problems is sugar. I know it is bad for me, and I know I can avoid it if I really try, but I have a really hard time with it. Do you have any suggestions for the sugar cravings? That is the hardest part. I tried eating fruit, but then ended up eating too much and still having an unbalanced diet. I just need to get through the cravings, and cut sugar out. I know I will feel much better. Thanks again for your advice, it was wonderful.
 
Hi sunkacola, your post was very helpful to read. A lot of it I knew were things that could help, but hearing someone vouch for them made me believe in them a little more. I have been exercising and limiting my stress, even cutting back on medications that made things worse. One of my current problems is sugar. I know it is bad for me, and I know I can avoid it if I really try, but I have a really hard time with it. Do you have any suggestions for the sugar cravings? That is the hardest part. I tried eating fruit, but then ended up eating too much and still having an unbalanced diet. I just need to get through the cravings, and cut sugar out. I know I will feel much better. Thanks again for your advice, it was wonderful.
So glad that y advice helps.

Sugar cravings are bad. It's actually like an addiction in terms of dealing with the cravings.

You could try a fruit that has a high sugar content, but only eat a very small amount. Grapes are a good example. Eat only a small handful, and eat them very, very slowly. If you live close to the store, only buy a very small amount of fruit at once so that you won't be tempted to eat it all. On the other hand, you can eat a very large apple, which has a lower sugar content, and chew that very slowly. That way you get to have more bites for the same level of sugar.

Most of it is sheer self-discipline, and you just have to do it. But you can make it easier on yourself by never buying anything that is sugary, like cake or cookies or candy and so on, and removing everything you have like that in the house. Let people around you know so that they do not offer you things.

Then, you have rules for yourself. the first one is that you can only eat the fruit after you have had a good quality large meal. You are less likely to overeat the fruit if you are already full.
The second one is that you cut ahead of time the amount of fruit you are going to have, and put it in a container, and that's it. Once you have eaten that, no more.
If you are still craving it, eat something else that is healthier instead, like protein.

And remind yourself why you are doing this. It's for the health of your body, which you have to live in every single day for the rest of your life. There's no trading your body in for a better one, so you have to take care of it if you want it to last.

Finally, think of some other thing you can use to reward yourself. If you can go a whole week eating only the amount of fruit that is healthy, and absolutely no sugar otherwise, you get to go to that movie. Or buy that little thing you want, or do something else that will be a healthy treat for you. Congratulate yourself. Really. It sounds silly but it will help.

Trust me, once you have disciplined yourself long enough to stay away from a food that is not good for you it will become easy. It's not like you have to work so hard at it for the rest of your life.
 
Eating fruits instead of artificial sweeteners is life-changing. Figured it diminishes the anxious feeling and depression, too.
 
I've just been struggling with my mental health lately. Being constantly tired and in pain is edging me towards what feels like insanity. Not to mention all of my other possibly related mental health conditions. I'm so tired. I literally just joined today, so I know I have a lot to read, I just really need the support right now to get through this. Any suggestions?
Hi Syd,

Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. Definitely dive into this forum - there are so many useful ideas, and insights that might be of help!

I wrote this in response to a post a while back, but I think it might be a nice share for you too:
Last year, I worked with this really wonderful psychotherapist. Whenever I had a flare, I was tumbling into anxiety and panic attacks - having a big stress response to the pain and frustration that I felt. He told me that I needed to practice "radical acceptance", learning to totally accept what I was experiencing. He taught me breathing and visualization exercises to rebalance those haywire stress-chemicals, but fundamentally said that I needed to learn to sit with those sensations when I was feeling awful - not pretending my symptoms were not there or obsessing over them, but accepting them, and allowing them to be present. I was sceptical as hell, but actually, practising this approach until it finally stuck helped me to curb the anxiety, and the vicious cycle that it tended to trigger.

I'll add to that: For me, it was crucial to recognize that, as crap as it feels, the pain caused by Fibromyalgia isn't a threat. Our instinct is to respond to pain as if we are in physical danger, but in the case of Fibro, we are not. Focusing on this idea has been very powerful for me in shutting down that stress response, and all the cascading gremlins that like to come along for the ride.

I'd also suggest exploring Dr Paul Gilbert's famous theory of our three emotional systems - the Drive system, the Threat system, and the Soothe system. The logic is that the three systems should be in balance, and those of us who get stuck swinging between Threat and Drive experience a whole load of trouble - but we can train ourselves to enter that all-important Soothe state, activating our Parasympathetic nervous system so that our bodies can catch up. For fibro, this is a management tool - sadly not a cure - but you might find something helpful along the way.

Finally, perhaps check out the different supplements, sleep schedules, dietary strategies, and other lifestyle changes that people here are trying and sharing. Everyone seems to respond to different things, but forum members are doing some amazing research, and many seem to be able to pin-point a tool or six that they find makes a difference!

On the sugar cravings, for me the only cure is a reset. Rather than telling yourself you're never going to eat sugar again, maybe try telling yourself that you're going to drop it for just two weeks, or you could try keto for a month, or even do a 24 hour fast. I find that abruptly interrupting what my body has become used to tends to knock those cravings on the head. After a while without sugar, I actually find it too much - my palette changes, and I don't feel the need for sweet treats in the same way. Then - for me at least - the trick becomes noticing when I'm letting it creep back in!

Really good luck ☀️
 
I'll add to that: For me, it was crucial to recognize that, as crap as it feels, the pain caused by Fibromyalgia isn't a threat. Our instinct is to respond to pain as if we are in physical danger, but in the case of Fibro, we are not. Focusing on this idea has been very powerful for me in shutting down that stress response, and all the cascading gremlins that like to come along for the ride.

I'd also suggest exploring Dr Paul Gilbert's famous theory of our three emotional systems - the Drive system, the Threat system, and the Soothe system. The logic is that the three systems should be in balance, and those of us who get stuck swinging between Threat and Drive experience a whole load of trouble - but we can train ourselves to enter that all-important Soothe state, activating our Parasympathetic nervous system so that our bodies can catch up. For fibro, this is a management tool - sadly not a cure - but you might find something helpful along the way.
Jemima, this is great.

One thing I have not thought to suggest to people (or to myself) is to recognize that the pain is not a threat. It's just pain, no matter how hard it is.
Very good advice. Thank you!
 
Jemima, this is great.

One thing I have not thought to suggest to people (or to myself) is to recognize that the pain is not a threat. It's just pain, no matter how hard it is.
Very good advice. Thank you!
Thank you too - I'm glad to share! It was a real "aha" moment, when I started thinking about it like that. It's like you can talk yourself out of a reaction that would otherwise be subconscious, and it's amazing how powerful a simple idea can be for altering the chemistry and signals inside our bodies.
 
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