Archive for the ‘fatigue’ Category
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
“Nothing vivifies, and nothing kills, like emotions”, Joseph Roux
It’s almost the end of December already and I missed writing a blog in November. Seems I was trying to recover from the many crises (or at least perceived crises) in my life. The physiotherapist (Nick) said my nervous system was “completely exhausted” and to rest. For the past few weeks things have finally quieted down and I am having Feldenkrais movement treatments/activities (I am somewhat certain that Tai Chi would be equally as effective, or any kind of movement) to help revitalize me somewhat. The fatigue is slowly dissipating and with it some of the pain from all the hyperactivity and intense stressful emotions in my life. I am back on my recumbent bike a couple of times a week for about 20 minutes a day now (again!).
As I write this I watch little light snow flakes outside; there’s a fire in the fireplace; I have just spent 20 minutes meditating and I am at peace with my heating pad on my shoulders and hot tea to comfort me. The winter skylight is incredible at dusk. Now that we have had Solstice the days will be getting longer.
If only there were more days like this, but of course, crises happen…stuff happens. I can’t stop the world. I am though working on focused practices such as mild exercise and meditation which is what my emotional roller coaster craves and my brain ( that darn amygdala!) has a difficult time understanding. My brain wants to go that well worn path to emotional chaos instead of the new calming pathways I am trying to cultivate. The stresses that many of us experience during the festive season create in us emotions that can make us sick, or conversely could make us well.
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Posted in amygdala, angry, anxious, compassion, crises, depression, empathy, exhausted nervous system, fatigue, fearful, Feldenkrais, Fibromyalgia, fretting, happy, joyful, laughter, meditation, mild exercise, neuro-elasticity, recumbent bike, sad, seasonal stresses, sensitive persons, Solstice, stressed | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
“When you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel“, David D. Burns
I have been pondering of late how I can change the nature of this website from that which focusses on symptoms and instead place more emphasis on neuroplasticity in action. Now as I write this 70th blog, for the time being at least, I want to write about living the experience of actively working on changing my brain, rather than espousing the rhetoric. After all these years I am finally fed up with defining myself, to myself, that I am “fibromyalgia”. I am bored with it. I have even become fed up with the word. What kind of a label have I given myself? It has become self fulfilling. I expect pain, fatigue and flare-ups. My brain, sleepy at times, crazy at others, jumps to the old pathways and keeps up the usual harangue. “Can’t do this, it will cause a flare-up”. “Too much excitement, I will be in pain tomorrow”. ” I shouldn’t do this long walk, I will be in a state of fatigue all week”. My brain eagerly accepts these depressing messages and goes down the well worn path. Strangely, it is so well travelled that it actually feels comfortable. New journeys into unfamiliar places in my brain means taking risks and cutting through the brush. So, why haven’t I taken this road before? Why do I have a mild flirtation with going a new route while trudging back into the boring, old worn out path? I have crept onto the unexplored by occasionally meditating, taking on a new, creative, repetitious craft (quilting), trying to remember how important movement is to changing the brain, but not in any disciplined way. I have not actively sought out joy in my life. When it happens I am thrilled but suspicious! The brain has amazing capacities and neural pathways, so why not bring the pathway to joy, rather than depression and anxiety?
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Posted in central nervous system, changing the brain, conquering fibromyalgia, david burns, david butler, depression, discipline, fatigue, Fibromyalgia, flare-ups, joy, labelling, neurodynamics, neuroplasticity, sensitive nervous system, symptoms of fibromyalgia, taking risks, triggers | 10 Comments »
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 
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.
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Posted in Atlantic ocean, brain fog, calming the nervous system, changing seasons, cold, dampness, extreme heat, fatigue, Fibromyalgia, fog, humidity, keep moving, muscle inflammation, pain, physiotherapy, rain, sleeplessness, strengthening muscles, wind | 2 Comments »
Saturday, July 14th, 2007
“Sometimes questions are more important than answers” , Nancy Willard. 
One of the major challenges that many people with FMS face is depression. The question that I pose here is which of the major daily struggles of living with fibromyalgia come first? Which of the ‘Gang of Four’ symptoms: pain, sleeplessness, fatigue or depression (the four most common plagues of fibromyalgia) first precipitates the vicious cycle ?
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Posted in Arthur Frank, Arthur Kleinman, coping, Dana Jack, depression, DSM-IV, fatigue, Fibromyalgia, medications, melancholy, moodaltering medications, pain, Silencing the Self Women and Depression, sleeplessness, suffering | 3 Comments »
