Archive for the ‘sandra and matthew blakeslee’ Category

Is Fibromyalgia a ‘Psychosomatic’ Disorder?

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

155643233x_01__sx140_sy225_sclzzzzzzz_” Trust one who has gone through it”, Virgil

Writing those words, in fact, even thinking about the title makes me feel uncomfortable! Who wants to be labeled as one whose pain is thought to be “JUST in your head” implying it is not real? But, before we go off into a tailspin about that specific demeaning-sounding word, I should begin by saying what I now believe psychosomatic to mean. It certainly does not suggest that those of us with fibromyalgia  are hysterics who malinger just to get attention. But, maybe, just maybe, our pain is caused by emotions that are unconsciously deep seated, trapped in past trauma and ARE in our head (brain).  Such emotions as anger, sadness, anxiety, fear, rage  and others can be kept in a closed segment of our minds without taking them out to examine and work with consciously. After all, pain perceptions come from our body’s nociceptors, funneled up to the brain. Psychosomatic does not mean the pain is not real, but that pain comes from the brain in the stored memories.

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Fibromyalgia: The pain is in the brain

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

11463“Memory, the warder of the brain”, William Shakespeare

This is it!!! In my view this is the most significant in-sight I have had about the pain of fibromyalgia. It has been a long and interesting journey beginning with my book in which I laid the foundation about why women are more prone to developing FMS and my conclusion that it is actually caused by an over-aroused nervous system. However, while this was the first step, and the primary one, more has been revealed to me and I am very excited over the unlimited hope there could be for us all. I still don’t have all the answers and it may be that I am presenting information that is not quite accurate, but it has been a steep learning curve and requires much un-learning, which is said to be more difficult than learning. It all began with my physiotherapist, Nick Matheson who brought me to a path which I had never travelled down before, that is, to explore the relationship of pain and the brain, rather than looking simply at fibromyalgia as the result of a hyper-aroused nervous system. The journey down this path is not yet complete so I welcome comments from others who are more learned in this domain than I am.

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Fibromyalgia and Other Pains: Living with Anxiety and Apprehension

Friday, October 10th, 2008

400000000000000054575_s4“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it” , Lena Horne

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK-END!

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