In an attempt to better understand the pain my Fibromyalgia clients feel, I found the following creative letter. It is written from the perspective of a person suffering from Fibromyalgia to the people in his or her life. It paints a great picture of the pain these people deal with, usually on a daily basis. This letter was found on Donald Webb’s helpful website. He is a Townson, MD Certified Massage Therapist. The letter in it’s entirety can be found at “a letter to the family“.

Dear _______,

Having FMS/MPS means many things change, and a lot of them are invisible. Unlike having cancer or being hurt in an accident , most people do not understand even a little about FMS/MSP and its effects, and of those that think they know, many are actually mis-informed.

In the spirit of informing those who wish to understand……

These are the things that I would like you to understand about me before you judge me….

Please understand that being sick doesn’t mean that I’m not still a human being. I have to spend most of my day in considerable pain and exhaustion, and if you visit I probably don’t seem like much fun to be with, but I’m still me stuck inside this body. I still worry about school, and work and my family and friends, and most of the time I’d still like to hear you talk about yours too.

-Please understand the difference between “happy” and “healthy”. When you’ve got the flu you probably feel miserable with it, but I’ve been sick for years. I can’t be miserable all the time , in fact I work hard at not being miserable. So if you’re talking to me and I sound happy, it means that I’m happy. That’s all. It doesn’t mean that I’m not in a lot of pain, or extremely tired, or that I’m getting better, or any of those things. Please, don’t say , “Oh, you’re sounding better!” I am not sounding better, I am sounding happy. If you want to comment on that, you’re welcome to. Please understand that being able to stand for ten minutes doesn’t necessarily mean that I can stand up for twenty minutes ,or an hour. And, just because I manage to stand up for thirty minutes yesterday doesn’t mean that I can do the same today. With a lot of disease you’re either paralyzed, or you can move. With this one it gets more confusing.

Click on the link above to read the entire letter and much more helpful info on this condition. Fortunately, massage therapy and other alternative modalities have been able to help so many people who live with this hard to understand pain. If you, or someone you know, has been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, share this post and link then book a massage appointment for the holidays.


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