Fibromyalgia sufferers may have heard this advice several times: don't think about pain.
Is it really that easy?
Since it is not yet certain what causes the pain in fibromyalgia sufferers, we cannot even say for sure how we should behave.
Some research says that the pain circuit goes haywire and that is why the brain recognizes every stimulus as painful, even if it isn't.
But is it really so?
From a certain point of view, I can confirm that the more you think about your suffering, the more the pain increases. You know when a child gets hurt and cries and you immediately try to distract him with a little game or song and he stops crying and even smiles at you.
Yes, it works when the pain is momentary.
Then imagine that instead of hitting the edge with your little finger once, all of the edges suddenly come at you. Once on the foot, then the hand, and then as the foot pain spreads to the leg and you instinctively reach down to touch it, a heavy book falls on your head and so on like a chain. All parts of your body are affected one after the other. I want to see you smile and take the chocolate they pass to you to distract and console you. I assure you that you don't even see it or if you see it, it just annoys you.
I am a very active person. I don't even have a moment to think about myself and my pain. Work, home, my family absorb me completely.
I can say that when the pain has really spread throughout your body you can't do anything to ignore it. You keep doing your thing or at least trying as long as you can, but the constant pain, without a moment's respite, makes you nauseous. There is nothing to be done at this time.
In fact, there is only one thing to do: don't get mad at people who tell you not to think about pain. They cannot understand. Fibromyalgia pain must be experienced to be understood. Sometimes they take you for crazy, don't get mad, it's normal. This is the only exercise you can do: ignore.
The anger and disappointment of not being understood only leads to increased pain and this is certainly not what we want.