I was thinking about the optimism I expressed in my last post–the weather is warmer and I’m getting in more exercise and I feel strong and have fewer symptoms and I can do things.
The issue is I can’t stay this optimistic for long. Invariably I will feel bad again–I’ll have a day of pain and a day of fatigue. I won’t be able to do everything I want to do. So I need to think about coping and acceptance.
That acceptance is hard. I think it’s hard for all of us with fibromyalgia. It’s hard for people who love us and have to live with the fact that sometimes we can’t do everything they want. My husband and I were having a discussion about it, and we discussed the issue of framing. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged when I have a bad day, I can say “You know, it’s a bad day. Everyone has them. I’ll do my best to get through it and soon it won’t be so bad. Maybe tomorrow–maybe next week–but soon.” I have a condition that is always with me, and it may impact what I can and can’t do, but it won’t kill me, and it will get better.
I’ve had this condition for four and a half years now and I’m still struggling with acceptance of it. I feel like I was making new discoveries when we were talking about framing and re-framing the way I think about my condition. I guess this is just something that I will always have to deal with, just like I’ll have to deal with the weird pain and the need for exercise when I don’t want to do it.
I’m hoping the framing will help me deal with the variability of condition in a better way. At least in a way that will help me get more out of the life that I have to live as someone who has fibromyalgia.