Think Positive – Improve Your Lifestyle
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that can affect every aspect of your life,
for the rest of your life, so it is important to develop long term strategies to
deal with it. It may affect your ability to manage your life on a day to day
basis.
How Can We Help Ourselves Cope?
1. Be open to Lifestyle Changes
The word change is often met with anxiety, hostility and fear.
We are all creatures of habit and when someone suggests a different
way of doing things, we often feel threatened and unsettled about
moving out of our comfort zone.
Change is a process that can at first feel unsettling and unfamiliar.
Fibromyalgia can result in increased sensitivity to pain, light, sound
and other stimuli. To help cope you need to try to become hardier,
healthier and stronger.
Some of the modifications you may need to make involve your
attitude, whereas others deal with changing learned behaviour.
In reality, however, change can help us develop appropriate coping
behaviour, help reduce stress, and restore a sense of order and purpose
to our lives.
Do not waste valuable energy worrying about and contemplating the
change rather than moving forward and doing something positive.
Making the change to a healthier lifestyle is a process that you can
enjoy and be proud of.
Often you will find an inner strength that you weren’t aware existed.
The easiest way to approach change is to take it one step at a time.
8
After you accept that change can be a good thing you are well on your
way to finding new ways to live a happier and healthier life.
Making changes to your lifestyle can have wonderful rewards, both
physically and emotionally.
Most people with fibromyalgia led productive, active lives before they
developed fibromyalgia. They are often hard-working people who led fast-
paced lives, neglecting their own health. They usually are not comfortable
asking others for help and like to keep busy and productive. Many of these
characteristics are not compatible with the symptoms of fibromyalgia, and
therefore it is often difficult to adapt to the pain and fatigue of this disorder.
2. List possible lifestyle changes that you could think about implementing
to make your life easier to manage.
Here are some suggestions for you to think about- you may wish to use
some of them
Lifestyle
Reduce clutter in your home
Simplify your life
Get help with chores
Ask others to take over household responsibilities
Take personal time for activities that bring you pleasure
Make a list of chores and tasks
Break up larger tasks into smaller units
Physical Activity and Comfort
Wear loose fitting clothes
Stand and stretch regularly
Use back, arm or wrist rests that are adjusted to fit ergonomically
9
Use a speaker phone or headset
Use a footstool
Sit in a chair that supports good posture
Drive with cruise control
Get plenty of exposure to outdoor light
Life Enrichment
Read something enjoyable
Work in your garden
Work with clay, wood, paints, etc.
Play with children, pets, friends
Play board games
Visit art galleries and museums
Watch videos
Cook
Gaze at a pleasant view
Have a pet
Listen to or make music
Write in a journal
Wear colours that please you.
Relaxation and Stress Reduction
Subliminal tapes
Focusing exercises.
Hypnotherapy
Pet therapy
Biofeedback
Relaxation exercises
Breathing exercises
Spiritual Resources
Visualization
Meditation imagery
Prayer
Manage Your Symptoms
Educate yourself
Personal Care
Take a warm shower or bath
10
Take an Epsom salt soak
Wear support hose
Eat a balanced diet
Drink lots of water
Eat frequent, small portions of food
Wear comfortable shoes
Feel Better About Yourself
Cognitive therapy/thought stopping
List your strengths and talents
List your achievements
Give yourself rewards
Take very good care of yourself
Please remember to consult your own medical professional team before
you begin any course of treatment whether it is alternative or otherwise,
take any over the counter medication or supplement or begin any form of
exercise.
The following lists are meant as points for discussion with your medical
team
Health Care Review
Get a complete physical evaluation
Medications review
Vitamins and other food supplements
Acupuncture
Alternative or complementary medicine
Reflexology.
Physical Therapies
Ultrasound with stimulation.
Electro stimulation
Neuromuscular electronic stimulation.
Trigger point therapy.
Myofascial release
Chiropractic care.
Massage
Craniosacral release
11
Alexander technique
Bowen therapy
Reiki
Vapocoolant spray and stretching.
Manual lymphatic drainage
Self-Help Strategies
Please remember to discuss the activity that you are thinking about
undertaking with your medical professionals before embarking on the
activity. Also only undertake one activity at a time or you will not know if
any specific activity is being helpful or not.
Self-massage
Exercise
Gentle stretching
Breathing exercises
Cold packs
Hot packs
Tennis ball acupressure
Yoga.
Shiatsu.
Qi Gong
T' ai Chi Chuan
Mentholated rub
Elevate your feet.
Acupressure
Support
Professional counselling
Reach out to a friend for emotional and/ or physical support
Reach out for physical assistance.
Peer counselling.
Attend a support group
Ask for what you need
Ask for help
12
It is important to also make a list of Activities to Avoid
Activities to Avoid
Staying in the same position for long periods
Travelling extensively without a break
Performing repetitive movements
Exercising too much
Immersing yourself in water less than 88 degrees Fahrenheit
Becoming overtired
Going without food
Wearing high-heeled shoes
Wearing tight clothing
Doing heavy work
Exposing yourself to electromagnetic fields for extended periods of
time
Smoking nicotine, or ingesting alcohol, salty food, junk food, or
caffeine
Spending time with people who treat you badly
You will find that you are able to add to your original lists as you discover/
learn about new techniques/coping strategies.
3. Make Changes Gradually - Set Realistic Goals
Some of the changes you implement will be temporary and others
need to be permanent.
Hopefully many of the changes will lead to a more relaxed, balanced
lifestyle.
As you begin to feel better, not all the changes will still be necessary.
You might even feel that this new way of approaching life brings you
more pleasure than the old way of doing things.
Create the life changes you want and feel happy with
13
14