Beyond the Stigma: Why Men’s Health Month Must Include Fibromyalgia

November is globally recognized as Men’s Health Month (often linked with Movember), focusing primarily on raising awareness for men’s physical and mental health issues. 

While campaigns often highlight prevention and screening for conditions like prostate cancer and testicular cancer, this month is also a critical time to address the systemic barriers that delay or prevent men from receiving a diagnosis for invisible chronic illnesses like Fibromyalgia.

For our community, this month is about challenging the stereotype that chronic pain is a "woman's disease."

The Challenge: Fighting Invisible Illnesses with an Invisible Shield

The classic narrative of the "strong, silent man" often forces men with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue to downplay their symptoms. This societal pressure leads to a significant problem:

• Diagnostic Delay: Studies suggest that while Fibromyalgia affects far more women, men who do have it often face a much longer journey to diagnosis, as their symptoms may be dismissed or attributed to other causes.

• Stigma and Isolation: When pain is invisible, and cultural norms dictate that men shouldn't "complain," the result is isolation. Men may withdraw from support groups or feel their experiences are not validated within the predominantly female chronic illness community.

This November, our goal is to amplify the voices of men who are living with this condition authentically.

FBD’s Focus: Amplifying Male Perspectives

We are making a concentrated effort to share men’s stories and experiences this month.

Social Media Campaign

The awareness color for men's health is light Blue. Our Fibromyalgia Awareness Facebook page and our X/Twitter feed will be geared towards sharing content, interviews, and posts from male bloggers in the community. We'll be using blue colors to align with this effort. If you have an old post where you interviewed a man with fibromyalgia, or if you are a male blogger yourself, please ensure it is visible!

Use these hashtags when sharing: #MensHealthMonth, #FibroMen, #ChronicPainInMen.

Our Male Voices

The reality of our community is that we only have a handful of male members. We deeply value the three men currently in our directory. While their posts often focus on general, valuable fibromyalgia advice rather than the male perspective specifically, their very presence helps break down barriers. You can find their incredible work, alongside many others, in our Directory.

We also want to honor the work of one of our earliest male bloggers, Thom Byxbe, who sadly passed away last year. His general posts remain a testament to the strength and resilience needed to live with this condition, and his work continues to serve as a valuable resource for everyone. Thom Byxbe’s Research Desk. 

A Call to Action for Bloggers

Your participation helps drive this campaign!

1. Write a New Post for "Freshness"

We're currently compiling the "Fibro Blogger Directory’s Best Voices of 2025" list for December. To qualify, one of the criteria is Freshness (4 or more posts published in 2024–2025) and a focus on Authenticity (first-hand fibro experiences).

If you’ve only published three posts this year, publishing just one more in November will qualify you for this amazing recognition!

2. Promote Your Existing Content

If you have a post that focuses on the male experience, or even a general post that could be shared with a male audience (e.g., exercise tips, symptom management), please link it up to Fibro Friday this month so we can easily share it.

By working together, we can ensure that Men’s Health Month becomes a time of genuine inclusion and support for every member of the chronic illness community.