This picture is an item sold on Amazon: Sleeping Dragon Figure
When I started writing my book one of the things I noticed was a lot of people were very depressed and mad a themselves. When I talked to them about it, I noticed they often internalized Fibromyalgia as part of themselves. They would say "my Fibro" has killed my relationship or "my Fibro" made me lose my job, etc.. Some went even further - saying their body had betrayed them and how much they hated it. Believe me, I could relate.
What I suggested was that they see it more like something that was a part of their environment -- not a part of themselves or their body. You see - how can we strengthen and protect something we hate? If we see Fibromyalgia as a part of our body - then our body becomes the enemy. Our body has to be important to us - and something we appreciate and try to make better. Hating it is self destructive.
Instead, try to imagine Fibromyalgia as a dragon. We live with this dragon. We have yet to find an escape from it - so we try to find a way to avoid serious injury. The dragon is the enemy. The dragon is to be respected and even feared. Sometimes the dragon sleeps -- and then we feel better, safer. So we try hard to make it sleep - and to keep it asleep.
Those are the things we do to keep Fibromyalgia in check. Getting enough sleep, stretching, not overdoing chores or workouts.... When we have a flare, that means the dragon woke up and is terrorizing us. What can we do then to quiet him? Maybe a soak in a warm tub with salts and oils that help stress relief, taking our meds, etc.
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