Common misconceptions of Fibromyalgia that dumb people think
- it’s all in your head
- people with fibro are lazy
- people with fibro are wussies
- we’re difficult to work with
- we’re faking it
- when we can do one thing today and then we must be able to do it tomorrow, no problem
- fibromyalgia doesn’t exist
- you sleep all day
- yoga is some magic cure-all
- you’re doomed for life
1. That it’s “all in your head”
Have you ever found this sentiment helpful? Me neither. It’s a load of bullcrap on top of the horse shit your body feels like.
Like, why would I torture myself and make this up?
Oh, attention they say, huh?
It’s like simply existing with your pain is a cry for attention.
You don’t want attention, you want to feel good again.
If only people could shut up and understand that.
2. That people with Fibromyalgia are lazy
We are not lazy – we have extreme bouts of extreme fatigue.
Fatigue that makes our bodies heavy and weak. Movement is hard and painful.
No matter how much we want to get out of bed and can’t…
No matter how much we want to make dinner and can’t…
No matter how much we sleep, or delay, or cancel…we are not lazy.
We are going at the pace determined by our body that day.
Sometimes, we cannot choose our pace.
3. That people with Fibro are wussies
4. That we can be difficult to work with
5. That we're faking
6. That doing one thing one day means you can do it forever
If we can do something one day, it must mean we can do it again with no problem the next day, and the next…as if suddenly, life is rainbows and butterflies.
Wrong. Totally wrong.
Anyone with Fibromyalgia who has gone on a cleaning or cooking binge knows just because your body gives you the green light one day does not mean you’ll get a pass on additional aches and pains the next.
It usually means you’ve got a one-way ticket to Further Hell, though. Enjoy.
(If that’s where you’re at today, maybe one of these easy hacks will help you.)
7. That Fibro doesn't exist
8. We sleep all day
Well…only some days. Many days we cannot afford to sleep all day, because of work, kids, and everything else.
There are some periods where we do mostly sleep if we’re lucky enough to have a supportive partner or resources that allow us to do so. But we don’t sleep all day every day. We may eat, take a shower, watch TV…things “normal” people do too.
9. That yoga will fix it
Cue eyerolls.
I enjoy yoga but no way am I going to assume it’s a cure-all for Fibromyalgia and aggressively recommend it to others.
Yoga’s a good stretch, but it won’t cure the bone-deep ache, irritation, and sleepiness that’s melded into your body.
I wish non-chronically ill people would stop recommending it under the guise of an exercise cure-all. And as if we haven’t already tried something so simple (or routinely do it, like myself).
10. That you're doomed for life
Your takeaway
Common misconceptions of Fibromyalgia include that we’re lazy, have yet to try yoga, and we’re making it all up. Those tend to be from non-chronically ill people.
One common misconception about Fibromyalgia amongst folks who have FM is that you’re doomed for life. You are very, very, not.
Any skewed perception you’d like to add? Let it rip in the comments below.
