Jodie
Any case examples that I share here are completely anonymised. Names and some case details are altered, disguised or changed to protect my clients’ absolute right to privacy.
Fibromyalgia and anxiety can be connected and either one of them can impact the other-this Case example may help you, but it is always advisable to seek appropriate medical assistance.
Please note that most of my case examples are individual and I imply the methodology works for that individual. Research carried out by Carmen M Galvez-Sanchez, Stefan Duschek and Gustavo A Reyes del Paso in their article Psychological impact of fibromyalgia: current perspective, Psychol Res Behav Manag: 2019; 12: 117 -127 Published online 2019 Feb 13. Jodie was referred to me having just been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Her initial agitation was about low energy levels and not being able to go out as much as she normally would.
Jodie clearly understood the importance of any type of non-impact exercise with her diagnosis and she loved to swim. But she told me that her fatigue and chronic pain prevented her from even attempting to go swimming.
Her general demeanour was a woman who was sick and tired of constantly being sick and tired.
The immense fatigue that she was experiencing was affecting her diet and her lifestyle. She knew this was contributing to her increasingly poor health. She was too tired to prepare anything nutritious or too exhausted once she had prepared healthy food to actually eat it.
The answer to many of my initial questions was “I’m just too tired”.
1. Strategy
At this stage I have a free phone call with a potential client so that we can discuss strategies for healing their issues.
My magical Psychotherapist’s Toolbox is Mary Poppins-like in terms of containing many options depending on the clients’ exact needs.
Options can include:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Hypnotherapy
Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) also known as Brief Therapy
Relational Therapy
And of course the fact that I am qualified in a wide range of therapies to assist clients to breakthrough negative thinking patterns.
In this instance we decided on a mix of therapies with on-going coaching for follow-up.
2. Treatment
When I began with Jodie I asked her what her desired outcome was. She told me she would like to return to teaching tennis again. Coming from a client who was so permanently tired this potential athleticism surprised me.
I discovered that she was a freelance, self-employed tennis coach of under 18’s so she needed to do long days 8am- 6.30pm during term-time to off-set the lack of income during the school holidays.
After her relationship had broken down four years ago, she was the sole breadwinner. Another reason for her long, physical hours of work. She mentioned her anxiety and worry about her future.
Something in her tone suggested to me that there was more to discover regarding why her mind was reacting to her situation with chronic pain and fatigue. As we explored deep into her subconscious mind through hypnosis, Jodie surprisingly, went as far back as a baby. She recalled being placed on a sofa and she fell off.
She had other memories of constantly hurting herself and of both her parents fussing over her and putting her to bed. Jodie had a realisation during the session that anytime she was hurt emotionally or physically, taking a nap was the easiest thing to do.
The combination of misery over losing a long-term relationship and her fear of taking on the responsibility and the cost of her home alone along with her tiring physical lifestyle had simply created a mental pattern where her body lapsed into exhaustion.
Battling with the conflicting emotional stressors of those responsibilities and the physical demands caused her body to release excessive amounts of the stress hormone cortisol.
The chemical reaction in her body resulted in her doctors deciding to diagnose her condition of chronic pain and fatigue as fibromyalgia.
When this realisation of the potential vicious circle of stress, cortisol, pain and fatigue hit home to Jodie, she decided that it was okay for her to take time out.
The lockdown forced her to stop work for a little while. Along with the therapy this helped break the cycle.
The last time I checked in with Jodie I learnt that she had returned to work on a part-time basis and decided to pursue her newfound passion for swimming alongside teaching tennis.
“I don’t think I would have realised that I developed Fibromyalgia because of my past learned behaviour.
Belynder said it was a protective mechanism because I didn’t know how to emotionally or physically handle loss.
I started to stress. This caused an impact on my body and in turn the stress made me anxious because I felt I could not physically move.
Since realising that the cure is not resting, but changing the way I think about my pain and how to deal with it, I am finally able to better my life by exploring new lower impact sports to practise as well as teach.
I couldn’t be happier. Thank you Belynder. You have changed my life in more ways than you will ever know.” – Jodie, London
Fibromyalgia and Anxiety are linked?
Well, first of all both spellings are correct – although the hyphenated version tends to be more popular in the USA.
The correct psychological name is social comparison bias.
The correct psychological name is social comparison bias.
Not always however … Fibromyalgia and anxiety are often connected in such a way that either one can impact the other.
Even though research shows that the cause of Fibromyalgia can be unique to each individual.
The anxiety may be interpreted as a sharp feeling of worry or unease. It is often aggravated by stressful activities and can create periods of mood swings.
Often anxiety sufferers believe that something bad is going to transpire and worrying about what this may be can dramatically worsen their symptoms.
It can become a vicious circle. But it’s a circle that’s very satisfying as a psychotherapist to help a client to break. The results can be most empowering for the client.
