More than 5 million Americans suffer from fibromyalgia, a painful condition affecting the muscoskeletal system.
More women than men are affected by fibromyalgia. Individuals that are affected by fibromyalgia oftentimes experience painful flare-ups in the muscles and joints that affect an individual’s entire body.
Doctors can perform X-rays, ultrasounds and other tests, but they won’t detect the pain of fibromyalgia.
It is a lifetime condition without a cure, but several treatment options are available to help those affected live as ordinary life as possible.
What causes Fibromyalgia?
No one knows for sure what causes fibromyalgia. Doctors speculate that it is oftentimes genetics that causes the condition, but not enough information is known to make a definite determination.
It is also believed that the condition is caused by chemical imbalances in in the nerve signals within the body.
What is known about fibromyalgia is that women between the ages of 25 – 60 are most likely to develop the condition.
Fibro Triggers
Fibro triggers are very important to know, as anyone suffering from the condition will tell you.
Triggers are certain actions or conditions that cause increased inflammation and pain, or a flare-up.
There are a number of triggers to these fibromyalgia flare-ups. When you can identify the triggers of your condition you can avoid them and help keep the pain that you are experiencing at a minimum.
One of the most common causes of fibromyalgia pain and flare-ups is stress. We all know that stress is known as the silent killer.
It affects the body in many different ways, but none of those are positive. For individuals that have fibromyalgia, stress causes added worry and burden.
Fibromyalgia and Stress
Many patients that suffer from fibromyalgia flare-ups experience the pain due to an increased amount of stress in their life.
This trigger is one of the most common of all fibromyalgia triggers. Although some say it is impossible to avoid stress, what is possible is the way that you react to that stress. This is what is important for you to know.
You are in total control of your life and how you handle each and every situation in your life.
When you have fibromyalgia your life is already affected enough. Do not allow stress to bring you down any further.
There are many ways that you can work to reduce and/or eliminate the stress that is causing such an impact on your life. We will look at ways to reduce the stress levels that you are experiencing below.
It is in your best interest to put these tips to work and to talk to your doctor to learn additional ways to eliminate stress and help alleviate the pain that you are experiencing as the result of fibromyalgia.
How to Minimize Stress
To ensure that you are not suffering more pain than necessary due to added stress, it is imperative that you find ways to eliminate all or part of the stress that is in your life.
There are many steps that you can take to reduce your stress levels. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways for you to alleviate stress from your life.
Determine what is causing the stress in your life and look for ways to avoid that stress. There are stressors found both at home and at your workplace so be sure that you carefully examine both to learn what is causing you so much stress.
If you have never practiced yoga or did at one time but since stopped, this is the perfect time to once again make that introduction. Yoga has many amazing benefits to your body and to your health.
In a matter of a few sessions you can feel the impact of yoga on your mind as well as on your body.
Yoga ensures that you are not tense and that proper blood circulation occurs in the body.
Yoga is fun, invigorating and powerful enough to change your life, making it easier to keep your fibromyalgia pain in check and alleviate any and all stress that may be affecting you.
Meditate: Whether alone or combined with yoga, meditation is another wonderful way to minimize the amount of stress that you feel.
You can meditate with a group or from the comforts of your home. It does take a bit of practice to perfect meditation but it is well worth your efforts. Plus, you’ll still feel a great amount of relief even if it is not fully achieved.
Listen to Music: For most people music is an awesome relaxer and it removes their mind from the cause of the stress.
Keep your iPod handy and filled with your favorite songs. Whenever you feel stressed, play a song or two and you’ll feel so much better in an instant.
Watch your Diet: The foods that you eat affect you greatly, especially when you have fibromyalgia. Certain foods may cause flare-ups so it is imperative that you are eating right when you have this condition.
Not only does this allow you to help your condition by reducing flare-ups, it also helps put stress on the backburner.
Lavender: Soak in a lavender bath oil, burn a lavender scented candle or use a fabric softener scented with this smell.
Lavender is a calming oil and it may very well help ward off some of the stress and anxiety that you feel.
Final Thoughts
Stress increases your risk for heart attack and heart disease. It raises your blood pressure and increases anxiety and depression.
Stress is not at all good for your body. It also causes fibromyalgia pain to worsen, the last thing that anyone experiencing the condition wants.
Stress is one of the biggest causes of fibromyalgia flare-ups, so make sure that you minimize it as much as you possibly can.
With the tips, advice and information above, you can alleviate stress and reduce fibromyalgia worries and woes.
With time and a bit of effort, you can get a grip on both your stress levels and your fibromyalgia pain. That is a win for the home team!
Reference:
Fibromyalgia and Stress
http://self-guided.com/fibromyalgia-and-stress.html