Fibromyalgia is known for causing pain, both widespread and at specific tender points throughout the body. However, if you are living with this condition, you know that the effects don’t stop there. Other fibromyalgia symptoms include everything from insomnia and fibro fog to gastrointestinal problems and numbness or tingling in your extremities. 

Regardless of the specific symptoms that you are experiencing due to fibromyalgia, you need to learn to do a little self-care at home. Let’s take a look at some of the most important things you can do to manage your symptoms regardless of whether you can find relief. Then, at the conclusion of the article, we will present a natural therapy that some fibromyalgia patients found beneficial in case studies. 

First, let’s look at five forms of self-care that may help.

#1 Managing Guilt Over Having to Say No

Anyone who tells you there is no stigma attached to fibromyalgia is lying. In fact, some patients make matters more difficult for themselves. If you had cancer, would you feel guilty over canceling a lunch with your friend, missing a day of work, or not being able to clean the house today? Fibromyalgia is a real health condition, and you shouldn’t feel guilty if being sick results in having to rest, even when there are household, social, and work matters to attend to. 

#2 Learning How to Edit on Your Good Days 

You know that there are some days that you feel better than others. Do you find you work yourself to death on those good days? After all, you have to get everything on your to-do list completed in case tomorrow is a bad day, right? Unfortunately, that type of attitude is going to affect how many good days you have. By pacing yourself on your good days, you may find that you can string a few together, or maybe even turn that good day into a good week.

Overdoing it on your good days may actually limit how much you can accomplish in a week, rather than increasing your productivity. 

#3 Prioritize Your To-Do List for You

Depending on your personality type, you may need to prioritize your to-do list in a different way from another person who is living with fibromyalgia. For example, if you feel like you have accomplished some good with your day only when you can cross several things off the list, try putting the most manageable tasks at the top. Even if those few things are all you get done today, at least you have a number of items crossed off the list.

For others, prioritizing means order of importance. Even if you only accomplish one thing on your list today, as long as it was the most essential item, you can still count it as a good day. 

#4 Stay Physically Active on a Daily Basis 

This may seem counterproductive if you are dealing with pain and fatigue that grows worse with exertion. However, there are several critical benefits to daily activity. Here are the two most important ones:

• You may be able to decrease your pain – Exercise releases hormones into the body that combat pain. As a result, there are studies regarding the benefits of physical activity for people living with chronic pain. 
• Exercise helps control weight – Patients living with fibromyalgia also face a higher risk of weight gain due to inactivity. This creates a cycle wherein weight increases and leads to higher pain levels. Staying physically active daily can help to prevent this cycle from starting. 

Work together with a health practitioner to help you determine the types of exercise and the amount of exercise appropriate for you at this time. You may find that with time you can increase the amount of physical activity that you perform each day. 

#5 Join a Fibromyalgia Support Group 

You may be one of the fortunate people living with fibromyalgia who receives all the support you need from your loved ones. If not, you may want to find a local or online support group for patients who have this condition. Being able to talk about your health problems with other people who understand and face the same trials may help you realize you are not alone. At the same time, remember not to spend too much of your time dwelling on the negative. You can lose yourself reading about the experiences of others for hours at a time. 

See if Upper Cervical Chiropractic Is Right for You 

At the beginning of the article, we promised to conclude with a natural option that could be right for you. Well, this is it! Upper cervical specific chiropractic care offers precise and gentle adjustments. Since there is no popping or twisting of the spine, it is safe for people with varying health conditions. It also focuses on the top two bones in the neck. Why is this important for someone living with fibromyalgia? 

The top bones in the neck protect the brainstem and play a key role in providing blood to the brain. Therefore, even the slightest of misalignments can have a profound effect on central nervous system function. Correcting these misalignments may be just what your body needs to combat symptoms. 

To learn more, schedule a visit with an upper cervical specific chiropractor near you. You may have just found the natural way to improve your overall health and well-being!

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