5 Weird Things

As many of you know, I have fibromyalgia: a syndrome in which the central nervous system mistakes every sensation for pain. I just started a new treatment regimen that has left me with very little energy. I am not turning this into a pity party, by any means. I just wanted to give an inside look into what having fibromyalgia is like.

I think the weirdest thing about fibromyalgia is what hurts me. Think about the everyday things you do. Now think about what it would feel like if every one of those things hurt. Here are some examples:

• Jeans feel hard against my skin.
• Loud sounds feel sharp inside my body.
• Crowds feel like hail inside my head.
• Bright lights feel like knives on my skin.
• Someone touching my skin feels like fire.

It's very strange to have this happen. A year ago, I was just fine. Now, I work from home, I can't go to the mall for long shopping sprees anymore, I hate going anywhere with large crowds, and I never know when I'm going to have a flare-up and have to cancel everything I'm planning on doing that day.

For those of you with fibromyalgia, here are some things I do that help my pain levels (other than medicine):

• Yoga
• Healthy diet
• Exercise
• Consistent schedule
• Relaxing

I know that it's not the ideal life: I just graduated with a college degree and I'm not using it. But you know what? I still have a great life. Yes, I have to deal with this, but I do what I love every day. I write, I cook, I knit, and I have the best fiancé of all time. Find what you love and do it. It's the best way to work your way through learning what your treatment plan needs to be.

Again, I'm not looking for sympathy; just raising awareness. If you have someone in your life who has fibromyalgia, understand that it is a real thing. They feel pain even though it's not physically there. They are not making it up. They want more than anything to get back to a normal life. 

Please be kind to each other.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi