“The amygdala in the emotional center sees and hears everything that occurs to us instantaneously and is the trigger point for the fight or flight response “, Daniel Goleman.
Just as I figured several years ago…it wouldn’t take long before others would finally give up searching for viral/bacterial/hormonal or other CAUSES for fibromyalgia and agree with my theory that this demon is caused by a hyper-aroused nervous system in highly sensitive persons! My book was the first to write about that and now I find that in the magazine Psychology Today , August 2011, an article written by Andrea Bartz, suggests that as well! I have laid out these ideas as: fibromyalgia= highly sensitive persons who have had acute or chronic trauma in their lives (psychological and/or physical) have developed a hyper-aroused nervous system, and an amygdala that is hyper-responsive to fight or flight tendencies. This is called central sensitization, that is being hypersensitive to sounds, stress, weather changes, light and many other conditions that can affect the nervous system and which develops slowly over time.
What has not yet been documented by those other than myself is why it is more prevalent in women. I developed this theory further than what I have just cited and suggest that because the majority of women in society are generally the caregivers of others and have developed highly intuitive, empathetic personality traits, they are more prone to a predisposition to fibromyalgia if they are overly empathetic. Therefore the next stepping stone to this theory is that highly sensitive persons are overly empathetic /overly compassionate. I realize that there are many men with fibromyalgia who also are HSPs. However, the vast majority of people with fibromyalgia are women. As roles change somewhat in society and more HSP men become highly empathetic caregivers it may be that fibromyalgia will have been under reported in men in the past. Not all caregivers are overly empathetic, but interestingly, in the hundreds of people I have interviewed either formally or informally, I have found nurses and social workers, among the professionals, to have a high rate of fibromyalgia, particularly if they themselves have experienced severe trauma in their own lives. The key is not female vs males, but rather these conditions often result in fibromyalgia: HSP, an overly empathetic personality trait, has experienced personal trauma, resulting in a hyper-aroused nervous system, that is, a hyper-responsive amygdala (which I have written about on several blogs). Interestingly, I read recently that the amygdala of children who had a mother who was depressive was larger than the usual size of the amygdala! Hmmm.. more food for thought. Could it be that these children were raised in a somewhat unstable home situation, always on the alert? Too early to even speculate about these new findings in the research. Even more dangerous is the idea that the mother is responsible for one more bad thing in a person’s life! Mother blaming has been far too common in the past.
I have one major differing theory about HSPs than the psychologist, Elaine Aron and the article written by Bartz: I do not believe that we are necessarily born with the tendency, but that it is primarily socially induced. That is why I believe that there are more women than men with fibromyalgia. However, neither the psychologists nor I, the sociologist, can prove this point and I am not sure it needs validation. More to the point, there is the possibility to change the brain and establish new pathways. Living as an HSP may be appreciating that it can be a gift, but it can also be a burden. There are numerous strategies I have described elsewhere and it is too bad that those who write about HSPs do not focus on them in order to make our lives less prone to intense sensitivity.
Dear Dr Keddy,
I have recently been searching for an answer to my fibromyalgia flares. Of course my doctor’s response is “what did you do this time?” which drives me crazy – I have a life to live and he is wanting to reduce me to a vegetable in the bed.
So after an especially painful week, I sat down today and quietly asked God to take the pain away from me.
Then I decided to search for Fibromyalgia blogs and was lead to yours. By this time my pain was lessening and I could lift my arms.
Being a nurse of 35 yrs myself, I was intrigued by the heading and suddenly was deep into the article. The nurse next to me became interested and we had a great discussion.
What I have been searching for is a REASON that I can understand – not a CURE.
You have made my day and you have now recruited a devoted blog follower.
Sally
Thank you so much, Sally. I hope that when you buy my book you will understand even more about the underlying causes of fibromyalgia. It doesn’t surprise me that you are a nurse, in fact, I suspect there is a higher incidence of fibromyalgia among nurses than the general population. It’s all about over caring and highly sensitive people! Keep in touch, Regards, Barbara
This is great insight. I was DX with Fibro 4 years ago, and I noticed a trend in people I was meeting with FMS pretty quickly…that they were highly sensitive, empaths, and ‘intiutive’ types. (Even the men that I knew who had the condition were prone to ‘knowing’ things before they happened, ‘feeling’ someone’s mood as soon as they walked into the room, etc.) Will be interesting to see what the Mayo Clinic’s study on the Amygdala Retraining Program show when the study concludes in Jan. 2012. BTW…I was also a nurse about 20 years ago!
Thanks Kim: I too will be interested in the Mayo study. Certainly I have been advocating the slight movement approach and mindfulness meditation for a long time as the Mayo study is doing. The neurolinguistics approach is another way of changing brain pathways with the language we use with ourselves every day. With this combination of 3 the study should prove to be very successful with fibromyalgia! It all takes discipline. Take care and thanks for the comments! Kind regards, Barbara
This is great insight. I was DX with Fibro 4 years ago, and I noticed a trend in people I was meeting with FMS pretty quickly…that they were highly sensitive, empaths, and ‘intiutive’ types. (Even the men that I knew who had the condition were prone to ‘knowing’ things before they happened, ‘feeling’ someone’s mood as soon as they walked into the room, etc.) Will be interesting to see what the Mayo Clinic’s study on the Amygdala Retraining Program show when the study concludes in Jan. 2012. BTW…I was also a nurse about 20 years ago!
+1
I’m so excited to find your website. I am in total agreement concerning the sensitivity issues related to fibro. I was always an over-sensitive child. My third marriage in my early 30′s was a total nightmare for 11 years. I loved and lived with an extremely emotionally abusive man. I worked nights as an RN for 23 years in several step-down units, and lastly, at a long-term acute care facility. I had many total care patients and it was hard physically. My fibromyalgia began along with my rough marriage. However,after my husband left me 5 years ago my pain became unbearable and I thought I had cancer. I began to see many different doctors during the course of over a year. Finally, someone agreed to do the X-ray and MRI I had been begging for. It was found I had a ruptured disk that had ground down to nothing, my doctor said it had probably taken 2 years to get that bad. I had a spinal fusion. I lost my job. My husband would have nothing to do with me. I was accepted for Social Security disability, but now, for the second time, my long-term disability is saying I can work, I am having to hire a lawyer, I was under surveillence for 6 days (they saw me take the dogs in the yard, dressed in PJ’s). My pain is horrible, in my back and plus my fibro… I want to end my life so bad! Aside from the struggle of constant pain and fatigue, of course I am extremely depressed. I wonder how I haven’t had a heart attack or stroke. How can a society be so callous? I was going to therapy, but now will no longer have the money for that or my Cymbalta. I am literally at the end of it all. My doctor is supportive, but seems powerless to help me with the insurance company. I have literally done nothing but fight every step of the way these last 5 years. Hell cannot be much worse. I am so sorry to unload all of this here. I just want someone to help and feel I have no one. I take pain meds, sleep, eat, and wonder how long I’ll have to be tortured to death. That is all. So sorry.
Oh Cam. Yours is such a sad story and not unlike that of many others. All I can say is to practice meditation with consistency and try gradual movement. These are the only solutions as medications can become very overwhelming with few good results. It doesn’t surprise me that you are a nurse. I hope you can read my book to get a better understanding of the issues involved with care giving. Best wishes, Barbara
Cam, after reading your comment I find myself wondering about you and how you’re doing almost a month later. I have felt the despair and desperation the fibromyalgia brings and know all too well the seemingly endless darkness you find yourself in. But I have made the CHOICE to fight. I say choice because it’s not something that comes automatically or easily. My sincere hopes are that you will find that kernel of strength that is buried deep within you…that you will nurture it until it blossoms into the will and desire to accept and overcome the obstacles that have been laid before you.
Me too Cam…how ARE you doing???
Barbara
Reading your post and the replies tears come streaming as for the first time I see there are others like me. Those overly sensitive and able to sense others emotions. I’m not a nurse , but I’ve been divorced twice, a bipolar dru addicted daughter etc etc etc. thank you all and god bless
Dear Keely: There are so many people who are highly sensitive and in particular as the social and economic chaos in the world continues more and more of us are affected. Please read the rest of my 90 blogs and know you are not alone in this quest for a better life.
Regards
Barbara
I did not have fibromyalgia symptoms until after a terrible viral infection in 2004. It was so bad, it caused me to faint the one and only time in my life. Shortly after, began the difficulty falling/staying asleep, weight fluctuations, depression, irritable bowel, and the sensation that patches of my skin were were frozen and on fire at the same time. My doctor was treating me for Chronic Fatigue and Irritable Bowel when I realized I hadn’t dreamed in over 2 years.
Then I had my babies and I pissed the fibro monster off. I have been flaring almost non-stop since I conceived last, over a year ago. (With my 1st, though, my symptoms were non-existant. I was looking forward to the relief I though pregnancy might bring. I never want to be pregnant again.)
I was never a highly sensitive person before the fibro, only after. I slept through a hurricane as a child. Noises didn’t bother me. My only health problems were a bad set of tonsils and, later, a bad set of wisdom teeth.
Dear Elaine: I would like to kow you better to find out if you were indeed a sensitive child. I question that you just became one in your adult life, but then we know so little about how the brain shifts from one pattern to another with fibromyalgia that anything is possible. I found your comments to be quite interesting. I hope to maintain contact with you! Very best wishes, Barbara