Fibromyalgia

David Clarke, MD

“Fibromyalgia consists of widespread muscle pain and tenderness often accompanied by fatigue and altered sleep, memory, and mood. 

However, even though the symptoms are quite real, there is no evidence they are caused by disease or injury. 

When auto-immune disease, hormonal disorders and peripheral nerve conditions have been ruled out by standard medical evaluations, and when the diagnosis of fibromyalgia is confirmed, then it is most likely that the brain is involved in generating or contributing to the symptoms. ”

  • Why would the brain do this? Nearly always, one or more types of stress is involved even if this is not fully recognized at first.

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  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

    Experiences that would make you sad or angry if they happened to a child for whom you care.

  • Stressful Personality Traits

    Such as focusing too much on the needs of others, excessive self-criticism, perfectionism, lack of assertiveness, and many others.

  • Unrecognized Negative Emotions

    Such as anger, fear, shame, grief, or guilt.

  • Triggers

    Including people, situations, or events that remind you of stressful situations.

  • Current Life Stresses

    Such as work, parenting, pressure from loved ones, or major life changes.

  • Mental Health Challenges

    Such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.

The good news is that all these sources of stress can be successfully diagnosed and treated.

To explore whether this applies to you, take the self-diagnostic quiz below. It consists of 12 simple 'Yes or No' questions. The more 'Yes' answers you provide, the more likely it is that the resources on this website can help.