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Fibromyalgia is Not an Emotional Condition

© Cynthia Webber (Jausten)

There have been many people diagnosed with fibromyalgia who still continue to be treated as though their pain, fatigue and other symptoms are of a psychological nature only. There are also doctors who believe that fibromyalgia is caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a type A personality, or emotional factors which haven't been dealt with in the past.

Many of us with fibromyalgia are sent to see psychiatrists, psychologists, or counsellors in order to treat the emotional factors which may occur due to our fibromyalgia. However, some of us are sent to therapists because our own physicians don't know how to treat us properly. Some doctors are very afraid of using pain medications in order to deal with our physical pain. They believe that we will become addicted to strong narcotics, and will thus continue to need more. This has been written about in medical journals, and my own physician has read that people who live with chronic pain do not become addicted to narcotics. We may become dependent upon them, but if the quality of our lives is such that we are ready to commit suicide due to the pain, then there is a need for narcotics.

Fibromyalgia pain is real, and yet it is impossible for me to explain the level of my pain in relationship to another's pain level. This is because we all have different levels of tolerance to physical pain. On a scale of 1 - 10, my pain may be at a 6 in my mind, but it is the same intensity of another's who says that their pain level is at an 8 or a 4. When my pain levels rise above a 5 in my mind, I know that I need a narcotic in order to stop the pain from escalating.

A psychiatrist, psychologist or counsellor cannot cure my pain by unraveling the deep emotional factors of my life. A therapist can help with dealing with stress and guide us in unraveling parts of ourselves, but this will not cure our fibromyalgia. It may help us to cope better by making us more assertive with our needs, but it is not the full answer to our dealing with physical pain.

Everyone has a right to their opinion about the use of narcotics for fibromyalgia, but they do not have the right to tell another whether or not to use them. If I was in so much pain on a daily basis that all I wanted to do was kill myself or find Dr. Kevorkian, then I have the right to use narcotics to decrease my physical pain.

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