Stress Management in Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Life is stressful, and that goes for everyone, healthy or not. When you have a chronic illness like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, it can be a whole lot more stressful.
Losing your health is stressful and frightening all by itself. Sometimes illness can mean fighting to keep your job, cutting your hours, getting fired or quitting. That can lead to financial problems, as can the cost of treatment.
Then there’s dealing with doctors’ offices and insurance companies. That’s never fun.
And then there’s the toll on your relationships. Chronic illness is hard on everyone around you, and it can do a lot of damage - all of which leads to more stress.
Meanwhile, our bodies can’t deal with stress at all. It sends our symptoms through the roof, which means it also exacerbates the very situations which cause us stress.
So what can we do to end this cycle? We have to eliminate stress what stress we can, and manage what stress we can’t eliminate. That’s easier said than done, but it is possible.
To help you with this, I’ve gone to an expert. My About.com colleague, Stress Management Guide Elizabeth Scott, has been helping people with stress for years and has a wealth of resources available on her site. I’ve compiled the ones I think will be most useful to you here:
