“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it” , Lena Horne HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK-END! We Canadians are always so happy our Thanksgiving falls in mid October when it’s harvest time; the leaves are gorgeous and in full colour and if we cook a turkey it is still a long way…
Category: Chronic Illness
Fibromyalgia and Aging: Hope for the new decade
” 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…
Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and the anxiety-prone brain
” The tenuousness of modern life can make anyone feel overwrought”, Robin Marantz Henig An article in the NewYork Times Magazine, October 4, 2009 by Robin Marantz Henig, entitled Understanding the Anxious Mind has led me to speculate about the anxious, highly reactive, overly sensitive temperaments of those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndromes. While I…
Fibromyalgia, labelling and the brain
“The changed brain stays changed”, Barbara Arrowsmith-Young This website is one which presents information which I hope is written in easy to understand language without too much academic or medical jargon. Many with fibromyalgia who might be suffering from brain fog or have trouble with focusing do not want to wade through too many technical terms….
Fibromyalgia: Pseudo-science and Woo Woo
“Science is like an inoculation against charlatans who would have you believe whatever it is they tell you”, Neil de Grasse Tyson There are numerous claims made by those who practice or have beliefs in woo woo (irrational ideas based upon lack of scientific evidence) about various concoctions, herbs, homeopathic solutions (sugar pills) and other…
The multiple emotions of fibromyalgia
“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….
Fibromyalgia and Aging
“Life has got to be lived-that’s all there is to it. At seventy, I would say that advantage is that you take life more calmly. You know that “this,too, shall pass!”, Eleanor Roosevelt In my book I write about the confusion in the research regarding whether or not fibromyalgia improves (or not) with aging. I…
Fibromyalgia and Caregiving Strain
” It is possible to move through the drama of our lives without believing so earnestly in the character that we play”, Pema Chodron What is it that prevents many of us from changing our thoughts, emotions, and ways of being in the world even when we know that what we do, think or act…
Fibromyalgia: An argument against being mentally ‘ill’
” My friend…care for your psyche…know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves”, Socrates Fibromyalgia does not allow for any kind of scientific tests to aid in making the diagnosis of the syndrome. It is not a disease, but a broad spectrum of ‘symptoms’ which appear to be…