Then I discovered my teenager doing drugs. I can't believe I made it through the year. With an estimated ten million people suffering fibromyalgia, the profound effect of chronic stress on the body becomes almost self-evident. The physical changes induced by stress are real, just as real as an ulcer or a blocked coronary artery. Fibromyalgia is like heart disease in another way, too.
Remediation often involves lifestyle changes as well as medical help.
The middle-aged empty nester who finally throws her chronically unfaithful husband out of the house and returns to the sculpting career she gave up 30 years earlier. The victim of childhood sexual abuse who, through counseling and support, need not forgive her abuser, but at least can move on with her life. The actual mechanics of treating fibromyalgia are not that complicated. Basically, recovery means recognizing the stressors and restoring the body's systems. We rebuild the muscles, restore an exhausted adrenal and thyroid, and strengthen the immune system.