Archive for the ‘brain fog’ Category

Changing the brain/Rewiring the brain/Training the brain: Managing fibromyalgia

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

YJ_052010_TeenYoga_01“Every man (sic) can, if he so desires, become the sculptor of his own brain”, Santiago Ramon Cajal

I have before me books, newspaper clippings, magazines that speak to the phenomenal advances that are occurring in the area of brain science and remapping the brain. Just this week I have read in our Canadian newspaper (The Globe and Mail) about brain research exploring the differences in social economic status (SES) of children, in particular regarding children raised in poverty. The  June edition of Yoga Journal speaks to training the brain through meditation. The book Buddha’s Brain explores the brains of those who meditate, while the magazine Shambhala Sun has an article  (May edition) on this very topic as well. All of these I have read  (or re-read) in just one week. Interestingly, apart from the Buddha’s Brain book,  and the research cited in the newspaper, the other two are magazines not known to be ‘scientific’ in nature.

(more…)

Autism/ADHD/Dyslexia and Brain Wiring…Fibromyalgia and Brain Wiring??

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

“One of the problems in understanding sensory issues is that sensory sensitivities are very variable, among individuals and within the same individual”, Temple Grandin

I have recently heard interviews on NPR with Dr.Temple Grandin, one of the leading experts in autism. Unfortunately I don’t have HBO so did not watch the movie of her life on February 6th. I have though read The Way I See It and been impressed with her theoretical analysis of Autism, which she says has many of the same characteristics as ADHD and even Dyslexia and other learning disabilities. I am astounded by the many similarities between Autism and Fibromyalgia. There appear to be so many: difficulty with sensory overload, fear as the main emotion, problems with information processing (what we with Fibromyalgia call ‘brain fog’), sensory over-stimulation, problems with too much noise, some sounds, smells and textures can bring about anxiety or even panic attacks…the list seems endless. I have taken the liberty of using some of the exact words of Dr Grandin as they reflect the kinds of words I would use  (and have) to describe Fibromyalgia. It is her view that there is a deficit in brain wiring in Autism. It is highly likely that this is the cause of Fibromyalgia as well. She speaks frequently of an over aroused nervous system, as do most researchers nowadays when describing Fibromyalgia.WayISeeIt

(more…)

Fibromyalgia and Aging: Hope for the new decade

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

” To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old”, Oliver Wendell Holmes

As we age each new year brings hope of change in a positive direction. Less pain, less fatigue, better quality sleep are the things I wish for. The new resolutions: try not to overdo like I always do on days when a flare-up has subsided; daily gentle exercises if only for a few minutes off and on each day; maybe take a music appreciation class (not like the class I tried to take to relearn how to speak French and had to attend class all day from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m conjugating verbs, ugh! The teachers were terrific, the program lovely but I had brain fog. After one week I quit, exhausted).october09 005 My new year’s resolution is to practice meditation more regularly; try new creative things but only gradually, not like I did with the quilting (I had never quilted before and by hand I sewed 4 quilts since Easter, without a sewing machine, now I suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome!). That seems like enough for me right now, the quilting (notice the Betty Boop quilt which is very uplifting!)and the French classes did me in this year.2010 163

(more…)

Fibromyalgia and the changing seasons!

Monday, March 10th, 2008

“In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours”, Mark Twain p1010059

Well, here it is!  Only ten days until it’s officially spring! One would never know it living as I do in Nova Scotia. One day it is -10C and the next day it can go up as high as +10C. Then it snows again but the next day it rains. Some days there may be sun; often it is dreary and dark. Erratic weather like this is the worst for me and results in flare-ups of fibromyalgia. I can awaken in the middle of the night knowing that a storm is approaching as my body is quivering with pain and light-headed dis-ease.

(more…)