My doctor told me I had chronic fibromyalgia. Up until then, I had never heard of this disease. H.T., Stamford, CT Dear H.T., Fibromyalgia seems to be accompanied by emotional tension reflected in the knotting up of muscles. When a person is under stress, the body reacts and tenses. Stiffness and pain is felt in the fibrous tissues, usually deep within the muscles, yet there is nothing wrong with the muscles themselves.
Stiffness is a result of rigid, stiff thinking.
Tension, fear, and holding on result in the body cramping and gripping. Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of Women to Women, recommends a book by Dr. John Sarno called Healing Back Pain. He has found that many cases of back pain are similar to fibromyalgia, in that there is a chronic stress in the body that creates abnormal levels of neurochemicals such as adrenaline. Dear Louise, I suffer from terrible halitosis. It's affecting my life in such a way that you can't imagine, especially with my job, where I deal directly with people.