Fibromyalgia is a widespread muscoskeletal pain that affects the whole body. There is no cure for fibromyalgia but you can cope with the symptoms by understanding the problems and making effective lifestyle changes. You need to accept that the pain is for real and take control of health.
Listed below are the ways to cope with fibromyalgia:
1. Reduce stress
Stress is supposed to trigger fibromyalgia. So, one of the best ways to deal with the disease is to reduce stress or stressful activities. You can practice deep breathing and meditation to de-stress yourself. As this can be done anytime and anywhere so are excellent choices to relieve stress. Apart from this take more time out for yourself and relax. Do activities which make you happy or calm you down. Like read books, listen to music, watch movies, go for a walk etc to boost up your mood.
2. Exercise regularly
Exercising can alleviate the pain of fibromyalgia. You need to consistent with your exercises. Your physiotherapist may suggest you with aerobic exercises. This can be walking, cycling and swimming. These exercises use the muscles in legs and muscles. It makes our heart beat harder and increases our endurance. Certain strengthening exercises might be beneficial as well as this improves the condition of muscles, increase blood flow to muscle tissue, reduces depression and contributes towards better quality of life.
3. Avoid caffeine
Caffeine increase both physical and psychological stress. It increases heart rate as well as stimulates symptoms of anxiety, nervousness and insomnia. Therefore, you need to decaffeinate yourself to reduce stress and better cope with fibromyalgia.
4. Warm bath
Having a warm water bath can be very beneficial to soothe down the pain, release muscle and tendon tension. Hot shower also increases the level of endorphin and decreases the level of stress hormone. Hence, a warm bath just before bedtime can get you a good night sleep without any pain.
5. Get adequate sleep
Getting enough sleep is essential to relax your body. Sleep for 6-7 hours daily. Switch off all electronics and darken the room that can lull you into sleep even if you don’t want to. Avoid late night caffeine that can hinder your sleep. You can incorporate carbohydrate rich food at dinner meal. As that can induce sleep by increasing the level of serotonin in your body.
6. Don’t feel shy to talk about it
Communication with family member can help you cope better with fibromyalgia. Discussing about the pain and activities that can worsen it can better make your partner or family understand the situation. This will also reduce your constant effort to make everyone happy by ignoring your painful symptoms. Making everyone aware of your suffering will make it less tough for you to say “no” at certain occasion for certain tasks.
7. Support group
You should look for support groups in your area and join them. Support group can help you and your family to adjust with the circumstances. You can share your stories and listen to other people views upon it. This will provide encouragement and heighten up your abilities to cope.
8. Pace yourself
Fibromyalgia is a condition where the intensity of pain can vary everyday. There will be days when the symptoms will be less surfaced. But you should not overdo yourself in those days. Maintain a steady work pace. Do not force your body to achieve the extreme limits as this can worsen the symptoms. A steady lifestyle with proper relaxation is the best remedy to deal with fibromyalgia.