Emotional issues

[CopingwithEx]

Hi there. I just wanted to know if anyone else experiences extreme emotional issues? I would say the worst part of fibromyalgia for me has been the impact it’s had on my mental health. I was diagnosed just before my twentieth birthday. I have health anxiety , panic disorder and always have and being in pain 24/7 I spend majority of my days having panic attacks and worrying. Constantly back and forth at doctors for reassurance. My spinal pain is so bad. I cry all the time. I feel so disorientated and depressed. I feel very mentally unstable some days. My brain fog and mental fog gets so bad I convince myself I have a brain tumour or disease but of course I had a brain ct scan in summer and was perfect and all tests so far have been fine. (Waiting on help from a mental health team) I just need to know I’m not alone! I’m only in my early twenties and try so hard to be positive but the challenges life is throwing at me just now is really getting me down! I feel like I’m going crazy.

Thanks for reading

Ellie x

[crochetjoy]

Hi there EllieSorry to hear you are struggling so much at the moment, hang in there, things will get better I'm sure

I do recognise what you are talking about ... before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I described it to doctors as always having a low mood and having to work very hard to keep myself going and on some sort of even keel, I was offered antidepressants, but I didn't want that

I decided to use mindfulness to try and help and I have had good results with that - I come back to this regularly

You just need to find what works for you and I'm sure the mental health team will be a good starting point - you are definitely not alone, the people on this forum know exactly what you are talking about and understands - I am also quite new to this forum

Don't be too hard on yourself, give yourself time and good self care

Lots of love to you 💜

[Kalamazoo1 in reply to crochetjoy]

Hi I struggle with my mental health too , I have days where I bust into tears over stupid little things and I get really frustrated when I can’t do something that I use to do with ease. I find that having my two dogs is the best therapy for me, I know it sounds stupid but I talk to them about things that are getting me down and after they cuddle up to me like they understand what I was saying and it makes me feel so much better. I hope you find something that works for you , fingers crossed you will get the help you need. Take care and stay safe x

[Trippys]

Hi, have you tried cognitive therapy?

[Cat00]

I developed severe panic attacks in my 30s, every time they asked me what I was afraid of I would say it was my body, they never seem to understand. I was already in the highest level of mental health care at the time but they just didn't know how to deal with someone in chronic pain, I was surrounded by self harmers but bc I didn't self harm they were at a loss.

I can have bouts of migraines that just break me, I am just starting to come out of a particular bad patch now 34 days of migraine out of the last 39 days. That's alongside with fibro and a few other conditions.

For me, its all about sleep. I'm an insomniac if I don't sleep for a few days I completely loose my marbles and deteriate very quickly mentally. Last time this happened I was in a constant state of panic for almost 2 years, I lost 2 stone in 3 weeks and so ended up at 5 and half stone. This has happened 4 times now.

The only thing I was able to do was to try and learn mindfullness type form of meditation. I don't if it was this or just time that helped. But since I had my children, my daughter is 7 now, I've managed to stop the deteriation into constant panic by doing this. I don't want the kids to see me this way I feel it would be too damaging for them, so that provides even more motivation.

[Calliope62]

Hi Ellie,Please look into Autogenics. It is a relaxation technique which involves a series of attention-focusing exercises designed to induce relaxation and enhance the body's self-healing powers. It helps with anxiety, insomnia, pain management and mental health generally. I was referred by my GP and did a six week course at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. It was on the NHS. I have Fibromyalgia, Graves disease and IBS. It has changed my life. It is simple to learn, easy to practice - all it takes is ten minutes twice a day; you can even do it in bed.

I wish you the best of luck!

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer]

Hello Ellie, my heart goes out too you being young and having these struggles, i am glad you are seeing the mental health team and I hope that’s very soon , having suffered anxiety I was eventually put on a medication that has got it completely under control now, do keep talking to someone close it really helped me, let us know how it goes the appointment xx

[Wobblygirl]

Keep in touch and let us know how you're progressing...We do hear you!

This is a dreadful time for you.Mental health support will help but it's slow progress! I know all too well!

Hope appt arrives soon and please allow time for any drugs or practices to get embedded into yr psyche. It will be worth it to be shown new routes but in the meantime self care is imperative to keep your body and soul together...

A bath, a hug, a nice nourishing meal, warmth, sleep, clean clothes, a rest or an activity you enjoy can be the tiny small steps so necessary before you reach yr appt and beyond! xx

[saj01]

For someone so young, I'm not surprised you feel as you do. Sadly, unless someone's got this they have no idea what you are going through.

When mine has been really bad I've just cried my heart out too. ...not wanting to go on anymore.!

It really does get you down and sometimes so hard to find any motivation at all. There is no magic fix, if only there was.

Some people find antidepressants helpful. Without restful sleep , which is neigh on impossible sometimes, the body can't function properly... it's a vicious circle. What I have found is cutting out inflammatory foods, upping my intake of magnesium and thiamin seems to help a bit... I've also got osteoarthritis) Relaxation techniques, gentle yoga exercises. tai chi or qi gong....Is there a hydrotherapy pool near you?

I was 'ill' , some years ago and ended up spending 6 weeks in a mental unit... all down to hormones I hasten to add.... my coping technique was to allow myself some wallow time...

Mindfulness helps.... setting small but achievable goals when possible..... don't beat yourself up, be kind to yourself.. Again when possible---Stretching exercises.. walking when it's comfortable to do so..

tip.... when walking don't hunch up your shoulders and look down, lost in your own world, look about you, take in what's going on around you, see the trees, listen to the birds.. and don't forget to smile... You will have better days... you are stronger than you think. x