Fibromyalgia is a disorder that is misunderstood by most people, including many people in the medical profession. The causes or roots of this disorder are still not fully understood, and can vary from one person to another. The result of this limited understanding of Fibromyalgia is a plethora of treatment options. In this aspect, Fibromyalgia is unique, in that it challenges traditional treatment modalities of the medical field. Fibromyalgia has caused scientists to pursue new treatment ideas that have not been thought of as legitimate in the past, and in doing so, they are finding that many of these treatments have legitimate therapeutic benefits.
One of the categories of treatment that is gaining popularity is the use of the mind to treat the symptoms of Fibromyalgia. It is well known that the mind is a powerful tool for fighting disease and disorders, so why not Fibro? There is promising science surrounding these mind treatments. Here is a closer look at a couple of these treatments, and what science has to tell us about them.
Meditation
Meditation is gaining popularity every day. Meditation is thought of as a relaxation technique, but it has been shown to be much more. The actual process of meditation is the act of refocusing your mind, and in doing so you are exercising your brain. There are several resources that can show you how to meditate. Meditation has gained popularity in treating Fibromyalgia symptoms, and has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, with the added benefit of increasing cognitive function. Reduction of Pain is the most obvious application to Fibromyalgia. Studies have shown that meditating reduce pain intensity and can reform the way your brain understands the sensation of pain, making it more bearable. However, one study shows that (of the participants in their sample) 71% of Fibro patients suffer from Anxiety, and 56% suffered from depression. Several studies show that mindfulness meditation can improve both anxiety and depression. Another study shows that mindfulness meditation significantly reduced perceived stress, sleep disturbance, and symptom severity. If you are looking for a way to reduce pain and improve the quality of life, then meditation seems to be a good choice for you to try.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This treatment is somewhat controversial in the fibro community because it is a carry over from the days when fibromyalgia was considered a psychological disorder. However, studies show that CBT has been effective at making pain more manageable for fibro patients. CBT is literally a mind-over-matter treatment. It is training your brain to understand pain differently, and therefore, making said pain more bearable. If you can reprogram your mind to feel a sensation as a tickle or electric current instead of pain then it will be easier to deal with that sensation. But, CBT is also changing a patient’s attitude towards their symptoms as a whole. It is actively training your mind to block negativity surrounding symptoms. The results reported on the effectiveness of CBT vary from one study to the next. Some find it to be very effective for treating some symptoms, some find it to be slightly effective, and others found no difference between the CBT group and the control group. There are so many variables to consider as to why patients experienced success or not, but it is likely that those who believed that it was going to make a difference actually saw a positive benefit from CBT.
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