Repost: Debunking Fibromyalgia as Just in Your Head. The Real Truth.

Repost: Debunking Fibromyalgia as Just in Your Head. The Real Truth.

This blog post originally appeared on Further Food.

Fibromyalgia consists of a complex array of symptoms, which include widespread muscle and joint pain along with overwhelming fatigue.  It is often a diagnosis with higher prevalence rates in women and has been described as one of the “most controversial conditions in the history of medicine.” To many medical critics, fibromyalgia is one of several “somatic syndromes” driven by sensationalized media coverage, self-interest, and litigation. For these critics, chronic pain syndromes are believed to reside in the minds of the sufferers.

A variety of social and medical critics view chronic pain as a post-modern illness sharing a lineage with nineteenth-century pseudo-maladies like hysteria. These illnesses, they contend, originate in vulnerable human psyches. Central to these suspicions is the seemingly unshakable belief that chronic pain is a psychosomatic disorder, with the implication that the sufferer’s pain is not medically “real.”

Psychosomatic explanations ultimately reduce chronic pain to mental factors, the consequences of which are significant.

One consequence is that psychosomatic pain is inevitably devalued and the credibility of its sufferers is questioned. Another consequence is that accepted treatments for “physical” pain, like analgesics, may be discouraged even when they may be necessary. Often, being invalidated triggers depression and anxiety, which increases the burden of the disease, adds to the pain, and results in more stigmatization.

A lot is at stake, then, if chronic pain is conceived as psychogenic.

When it comes to fibromyalgia, there is a lot that Western Medicine continues to ignore. There is still no certain cause or recognized treatment that works for everyone.  Many things, however, have become, at least anecdotally speaking, crystal clear:

1. People who suffer with symptoms can find relief by making certain lifestyle choices.

2. The expression and manifestation of Fibromyalgia is diverse and what works for one person might not work for another.

3. Fibromyalgia symptoms can have a significant impact on your life—your work, relationships with family members and friends, and your overall outlook.

4. A combination of treatment modalities is very beneficial.

Many people who suffer with fibromyalgia turn to their diets when making lifestyle choices that will offer relief and improve their overall functioning.  The fibromyalgia-diet connection has in part emerged from the idea that people with fibromyalgia have mitochondria dysfunction, and therefore they need to increase levels of certain nutrients in order to produce enough energy.

While research hasn’t indicated specific foods that all fibromyalgia patients should add or avoid, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that supports eliminating and adding certain nutrients to the diet for relief.  For example, caffeine and highly processed foods are often linked to exacerbation of fibromyalgia symptoms. The relief that comes through this kind of mindful eating is buttressed by other healthy lifestyle choices, such as adding an exercise regimen to your day, getting enough sleep, and reaching out to a mental health professional.

Since fibromyalgia is so diverse in its symptom presentation, what works for one person might not work for you. There will most likely be trials and errors as one finds relief, and a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach will likely work best. This might include dietary changes, psychological support, and perhaps medications and/or herbal supplements.

Whatever your journey entails, I know and trust it is worth the hope of a healthier and happier life.  You can and will come to thrive, one step at a time!

PTSD and Chronic Pain

PTSD and Chronic Pain

PTSD and CHRONIC PAIN

PTSD is mostly known for its impact on overall mental health. There is research, however, to support the fact that PTSD is increasingly being recognized for its effect on physical wellness as well. Many who suffer with PTSD (veterans in particular) have higher lifetime prevalence of circulatory, digestive, musculoskeletal, nervous system, respiratory, and infectious disease. There is also an increased co-occurrence of chronic pain in those who suffer with PTSD.

In 1979, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) officially redefined pain as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential damage or described in terms of such damage”. This definition takes into account the fact that pain involves thoughts and feelings. Meaning, pain is real whether or not the biological “causes” are known, and it is ultimately a subjective experience.

Pain experienced by veterans is reported as significantly worse than the pain of the public at large because of increased exposure to injury and psychological stress during combat. Rates of chronic pain in veteran women are even higher.

PTSDArticlePic3

All veterans with chronic pain often report that pain interferes with their ability to engage in occupational, social, and recreational activities. This leads to increased isolation, negative mood, and physical deconditioning, which all actually exacerbate the experience of pain.

Why are veterans and others who suffer with PTSD more likely to experience co-morbid chronic pain?

Well, for veterans in particular, the pain itself is a reminder of a combat-related injury, and therefore can act to actually elicit PTSD symptoms (ie, flashbacks). Additionally, psychological vulnerability such as lack of control is common to both disorders. When a person is exposed to a traumatic event, one of the primary risk factors related to developing actual PTSD is the extent to which the events and one’s reactions to them are unfolding in a very unpredictable and therefore uncontrollable way. Similarly, those with chronic pain often feel helpless in coping with the perceived unpredictability of the physical sensations.

Some say that those who experience PTSD and Chronic Pain share the common thread of “anxiety sensitivity.” Anxiety sensitivity refers to the fear of arousal-related sensations because of beliefs that these sensations have harmful consequences. A person with high anxiety sensitivity would most likely become fearful in response to physical sensations such as pain, thinking that these symptoms are signaling that something is terribly wrong. In the same vain, a person with high anxiety sensitivity will be at risk for developing PTSD because the fear of the trauma itself is amplified by a fearful response to a “normal” anxiety response to the trauma (meaning, it is very “normal” to have a strong reaction to trauma, but most sufferers actually tend to be fearful of their own response).

PTSDArticlePic6

What has YOUR experience been? Feel free to share in this forum. We are sensitive and respectful to the emotional burden of the topic.

To Thriving,

Jennifer Wolkin, PhD