Fibromyalgia syndrome involves many symptoms

The main Fibromyalgia symptom is pain - which can be described in many different ways, as pain is subjective, but pain it is. After that is a myriad of other symptoms which are not necessarily felt by every single person who has Fibro... most would say they have fatigue and a problem with sleep and then it seems to be a lucky dip of symptoms that can fluctuate in severity and change every week for no known reason. These symptoms include: headaches, migraines, chemical sensitivity, mood disorders, stiffness, sensory problems, like pins and needles, gastrointestinal problems, food intolerances, sexual dysfunction, difficulty losing weight, and let's not forget brain fog!

Fibro Friday week 196... that's 196 weeks of sharing information about Fibromyalgia, Fibro, FM, FMS or whatever you want to call it, by people who have it.
If you read back through our weekly Fibro Friday's you will find so much valuable and interesting information about living with this condition, about all the differing symptoms and ways to cope with them..
Thank you so much for being here. We hope we can be helpful. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or join up at our newsletter.
Have fun visiting the links below.

Laughter and pain

 

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects. ~ Arnold H. Glasgow

Laughter is a powerful antidote to pain. Time and time again it has been shown that the old adage Laughter is The Best Medicine really has a grounding in the truth.

One possible explanation could be that humor activates the release of endorphins and relieves muscular tension.  This means it has an effect on pain both a mentally and physically.

"...humor helps to reflect pain, thus helping both the patients as well as their carers to deal better with stress," said Professor Willibald Ruch, Zurich University. "Humor can be used specifically as a cognitive technique, for example in terms of a distraction to control the pain and increase pain tolerance."

The idea that laughter reduces pain is not new. Dr. James Walsh, an American physician, noted in his 1928 book, Laughter and Health, that laughter appeared to reduce the level of pain experienced following surgery.

More recently research has found that people who had recently experienced belly laughs were able to withstand up to 10% more pain than they had done before watching comedy videos.

Professor Robin Dunbar of Oxford University, who led the research, believes that uncontrollable laughter releases chemicals called endorphins into the body which, as well as generating mild euphoria, also dull pain.

The ability to have a really good belly laugh is unique to humans. Apes can laugh but only humans can guffaw. 

"It's exactly what happens when we say 'I laughed until it hurt'. It seems to be extremely painful and it's that pain that produces the endorphin effect." Professor Robin Dunbar.

Now I'm not saying that the following jokes will send you into wild guffaws but maybe they are just a humorous distraction for a few minutes. 

Also I am collecting all the chronic illness/ fibromyalgia humor I can find on a Pinterest board called Fibro Funny. 

Don't forget to share your on Fibro humor on Twitter every Monday with the hashtag #FunnyFibro to be shared to over 10,000 Fibromyalgia people. 

Fibro Friday week 195

Fibromyalgia is a complex condition. 
Its symptoms are varied and impact our lives in many ways. The pain and fatigue alone can be enough to change your life. To take control of your symptoms, you have to take control, when you are feeling overwhelmed, and work out what helps your symptoms. 

Most people find that a multi-disciplinary treatment plan works best and use medications, physical activities, and psychology, to help mental and emotional wellness.

Last week at the link up there were articles about social wellness, group therapy, becoming your own health advocate, headaches, grieving, coping with pregnancy, anger, and pain, meditation, becoming a warrior, first signs of fibro, housebound activities and 10 fast facts about Fibromyalgia. What more could you ask for? Check them all out ... after you've joined in here at this week's Fibro Friday. 

Fibro Friday week 194

In last week's Fibro Friday there was something for everybody including parenting, depression, sex, comfort, joy, opoids, fatigue, diagnosis and children with Fibromyalgia, please have a look here.

We would love anyone who knows about fibromyalgia, or wants to know about it, to join in. You can share articles and visit some of the other participants.

Fibro Friday is open all week so please use the social media buttons, below the post, to spread the word.