As a holistic fibromyalgia coach I want to inspire you to believe you can get better but I also need to be careful about explaining what that might mean. It’s important that you are set up to have realistic expectations when it comes to your health and healing.

Time and time again we hear and read that there is no cure for fibromyalgia. That’s a pretty depressing prognosis for a health condition that causes physical torture and emotional misery. It can be a life sentence, a dictate for suffering and it offers no hope or optimism for improvement. From a metaphysical perspective, some might consider it spellcasting.

What we think and believe can have an impact on our physical biology as evidenced by the placebo and nocebo affects. These are so well known and confirmed by science that they are controlled for in the highest quality medical research. We must keep in mind that our beliefs about our health and ability to heal can impact our outcomes. The placebo effect and the biology of belief will be explored further in future blogs posts.

In exploring the question ‘Is Fibromyalgia Curable?’ we first need to ask

What is fibromyalgia?

When it comes to understanding what fibromyalgia actually is, the fact is we don’t exactly know. It is classified by a collection of symptoms but the underlying pathology of these is unclear and probably different for each person.

If we don’t know what the problem is, how could we know the solution?  It is reasonable to say that we don’t know how to cure something if we don’t know what it is. From this perspective we could claim that there is no known cure for fibromyalgia.

But what if we pull apart the symptoms of fibromyalgia – pain, fatigue, digestion problems, depression – to name just a few. Individually, all of these can be cured. They may be challenging to treat but effective treatments do exist and the world is full of stories from people who cured these afflictions.

So perhaps we could reasonably state that:

‘We can’t cure fibromyalgia,
but symptoms can be effectively treated’

What this looks and feels like will be different for everyone and the outcomes will vary. However, this is a much more optimistic and hopeful prognosis as it can inspire motivation, action and ignite the will to live well.  Your day to day lived experience will be different if you believe you are doomed versus believe you can improve, so you set yourself up in the best possible way by adopting the mindset that improvement is attainable.

Let’s now consider the question:

What does it mean to cure?

Definitions of curing include:

• corrected to the point you don’t have to do any further treatment
• to eliminate a disease from the body
• a means of improving a condition
• to remove or remedy something harmful or disturbing
• something that corrects a disease or unhealthy condition
• to cause to be free of, to lose interest in, or to stop doing something

If we want a cure that results in complete elimination of symptoms and zero further treatment, we may be disappointed. But if we accept that curing can include improvement, remedy, correction and behavioural change then we have good reason to believe that our many or all of our symptoms can be cured.

Finally let’s ask:

How do we define health?

Definitions of health vary:

• the absence of disease or abnormality
• a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO 1946)
• a condition of optimal well-being
• soundness of body or mind
• a condition in which someone or something is thriving or doing well

If we hang on to the definition that health can only be attained through complete absence of disease or abnormality then we may never be healthy. But if we broaden our understanding to being sound in body and mind, and to a state of thriving and wellbeing, then health is absolutely attainable, even if you have underlying vulnerabilities and sensitivities that increase your chances of having symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Considering all of the above, I propose that:

Curing includes the integration of multifaceted layers of being. It incorporates conventional and alternative medical models and accommodates ongoing lifestyle, psycho-emotional and supplementary therapies to attain a state of optimal health that is relevant to each individual.

Health is the dynamic sate of being in harmony with mind, body and spirit and has room to co-exist with disease or illness. 

My personal experience:

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 20 years ago, around the age of 20.  I was told there was no cure and no effective treatment. I was advised to wait for a treatment to become available at some point in the future. I trusted the doctors advice and so went on with my life as usual.

As time went on my health slowly deteriorated. In addition to the widespread pain I started experiencing depression and anxiety, I had irritable bowel symptoms including crippling stomach aches that were getting worse, my ability to tolerate stress was low and I had successive nervous breakdowns. When I woke in the morning after what seemed to be a good night sleep, I felt like I hadn’t rested for days, and that I’d been hit by a bus. Sound familiar?

I kept going back to the doctors and they kept telling me it was just fibromyalgia and there was little they could do.

After a decade the pain and nervous breakdowns had become so bad that I was experiencing suicide ideation. By this time I was very desperate for something to change so I left my career as an interior designer in the city and moved to a small (but vibrant) country town. I discovered stories of people who claimed they had cured their fibromyalgia and so, in the following decade I dedicated myself fully to figuring out what was going wrong in my body. Now 10 years later, the only symptom I have to manage is occasional pain flares.

So, did I cure those other symptoms? Can I claim I healed?  Am I in remission? Or am I just very good at managing symptoms? 

Well, all of the above.

I definitely cured the bacterial infection in my stomach, that then allowed my gut to do a lot of healing, although I still have to manage the longer term damage that was done.

I certainly healed a lot of my psychological trauma along the way. Years of therapy, workshops, reading, crying and support from loved ones helped me. Yet I still have triggers and sensitivities that influence the way I live my life and the choices I make each day.

My hypoglycaemia is managed through diet and exercise.

My nutrient deficiencies are balanced with supplements.

And the list goes on.

For me, my health is a delightful paradox: 

I have a complex chronic health condition but I am extremely healthy.
In fact, it is because of my health condition that I am so healthy.

So you may not be able to ‘cure’ your fibromyalgia but you can be very healthy. You may still have underlying vulnerabilities and sensitivities but you can make educated and empowered choices to minimise their impact and live optimally.

The path from sick to wellness is not simple. Our bodies are complex, our minds even more so. Healing may result in the elimination of symptoms, permanently or temporarily or it may mean we come to terms with where we are at and learn to live fully and peacefully in spite of out health issues.

Part of the aim of holistic fibromyalgia coaching is to help you discover underlying root causes of your symptoms. But discovering root causes does not necessarily mean we cure them. Some root causes can be cured with medicines but others require lifestyle adaptations and ongoing treatments to manage.

What matters is that you become informed and in control. 

What matters is that each day you get to hang onto the hope that improvement is possible rather than getting swallowed in the despair that nothing can be done.

For me, the core healing process was believing I could heal which allowed me to cultivate hope. I learnt to be present and respectful with my body, to be kind to myself, to have good discipline and to make healthy lifestyle changes.

Without all of that, I would still have most of my symptoms and be miserable.

I am healed to the degree with which I care
for myself and make optimally healthy choices.

I am healed to the degree that I have a
beautiful and deep relationship to my body.

I am healed to the degree that I know
who I am and live in integrity with my soul.

If I’m in pain, if I feel unwell and if I have limitations,  it’s frustrating but it’s all ok. In fact, that’s part of being human. I get to choose how I relate to those and if I accept them with grace then I don’t identify as being sick or victimised.

This is the type of healing I am passionate about inspiring and supporting through my coaching programs.

If you are struggling with symptom of fibromyalgia and would like some support and guidance, please get in touch. I offer free 15 minute consult calls to discuss the best programs to help you. 

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