Fibromyalgia is a pain disorder, with symptoms ranging from muscle pain and numbness in the limbs to sleep disorders. Inflammation and the body’s reaction to stress through the complex interactions between the brain and other organs play a role in fibromyalgia. It can be difficult to avoid the tensions that modern life throws at us, but surely there are many things we have control over that can help relieve the symptoms of this condition, including lifestyle and diet habits.
Abuse is the main cause of fibromyalgia
There is no simple answer or only reason why abuse or emotional distress can trigger fibromyalgia. Emotional stress can weaken your ability to protect yourself from various chronic pain diseases, such as FMS. It is also believed that there is a link between emotional trauma, insomnia, headaches, pain and other symptoms.Victimization at an early age can have a serious long-term impact.
It seems that emotional abuse has been taken less seriously than physical abuse, since it has no external signs, such as bruises or broken bones. However, the highest instances of emotional abuse, especially in childhood, but also in adulthood, associated with people who have fibromyalgia indicate the need to be aware of the possibility of developing fibromyalgia.
childhood trauma
Traumatic experiences and stress in childhood have historically been overlooked as predisposing factors in the development of various chronic pain disorders and psychiatric disorders, including fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, depression, anxiety, stress disorder post-traumatic and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, the tide is changing as research reveals a significant correlation between childhood trauma and adult health.
The central nervous system develops rapidly during childhood and is conditioned to respond to various stress stimuli that are found in life. As a variety of environmental stimuli are found, new paths are created between brain cells in response to each stimulus.
For example, a pleasant experience, such as a hug from a parent or sweet food, creates ways that teach the brain to respond with pleasure to these stimuli. Similarly, a terrifying experience will create and exercise paths that respond with fear.
This process of creating new pathways in response to stimuli is called neuroplasticity. As we age, neuronal plasticity decreases, which means that it is more difficult to develop new pathways and adjust the brain’s responses to stimuli. Children are in a clear advantage of having a high degree of neuronal plasticity.
However, this also highlights the importance of delivering significant stimuli to the developing brain, to ensure the development of positive pathways.
Traumatic experiences that are related to fibromyalgia include:
- << Accidente
- << Emotional trauma
- << Certain viruses such as hepatitis C and HIV
- << A separation in childhood from his mother and that lasted more than 6 months.
- << life through a war.
Read more “Fibromyalgia is linked to the stress and negative emotions of unprocessed children
sexual abuse
According to studies, approximately 30-40 percent of adults have suffered physical, emotional or sexual abuse at some time during their childhood. Other studies suggest that actual statistics may be much higher and reported. Several studies have examined the role of sexual abuse and fibromyalgia specifically, and the results are surprising. In several studies, about 65 percent of women with fibromyalgia reported sexual abuse.
Although researchers do not know exactly how or why child abuse is linked to fibromyalgia, it is important to take into account the role of abuse in the measures taken to cure and control fibromyalgia symptoms. Much of the research on abuse and fibromyalgia has emerged in the last 5-10 years. This means that there is little evidence that pins down how abuse can influence fibromyalgia symptoms in the future.
A 1995 study by McGill University in Canada found that in a group of 83 women with fibromyalgia and 161 women in the control group, 37 percent of women in the fibromyalgia group had experienced sexual abuse in childhood.
Only 22 percent of women in the control group reported childhood sexual abuse. Women in the fibromyalgia group also reported higher levels of physical abuse (18 percent versus 4 percent), drug abuse (16 percent vs. 3 percent), and lifelong sexual abuse ( 17 percent versus 6 percent).
Of particular interest is a study conducted in Birmingham, Alabama, which suggests that people with fibromyalgia were statistically more likely to have had a history of past sexual or physical abuse, although other studies seemed to deny these results.
The results of a study published by the American College of Rheumatology in its journal, Arthritis and Rheumatism showed that 65% of fibromyalgia patients reported sexual abuse in the past, compared with 52% of healthy control participants. This study found that fibromyalgia patients with a history of abuse reported more symptoms than fibromyalgia patients do not have such a childhood history.
The researchers considered that the study showed that only one history of abuse caused a greater severity of fibromyalgia symptoms, although such abuse does not appear to be the cause of the syndrome itself.
Fibromyalgia patients with a history of such abuse in the past would do well to discuss this with their service providers. Therapy is always recommended as a remedy for abuse, and fibromyalgia patients are no exception to the rule. No one can say for sure, but it makes sense that facing the consequences of such abuse can only help fibromyalgia patients get a better quality of life.
The recommended treatment
Recommended treatments include counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, post-traumatic stress disorder therapies and antidepressant medications such as Cymbalta (duloxetine) and Effexor (venlafaxine).
Above all, when taking care of someone who has pain without pathology of the transparent tissue or who has recognized intensified the processing of emotional pain, reassure the person that the experience of pain is not in their head, but rather in their nervous system.
