Ditch the non-believers

I haven't written my Blog for many months now and I will update you soon on all that has happened in my journey with Fibromyalgia but for now I want to blog about something that has been on my mind the last couple of days.

What I would like to say is: Ditch the non-believers!
This condition is hard enough without having to justify your pain and lack of energy to people.
This post is prompted by a comment made to one of my facebook friends who also has Fibro. The comment was something in the gist of "stop playing the disability card", and I found that quite offensive. Granted, I don't know the commenter, or her relationship with my friend, and yes the discussion was not originally about fibro or disability, but I thought how damaging that comment could be to someone who is struggling to come to terms with the disability fibro thrusts upon us, especially if you had trusted that person to do their best to understand and stick by you through the bad times.

When you are first diagnosed family, partners and close friends do need time to get used to your diagnosis as much as you do. Remember, they too have to grieve for the 'you' they have lost and the loss of the life they were expecting to have with you and come to terms with the new 'you' and the limitations that will put on your relationship.

But there will always be some that refuse to acknowledge your illness and persist in believing that you are 'putting it on' or 'making a mountain out of a molehill'. These people are toxic to your well-being and if you are to come to terms with your diagnosis yourself then these people must be ditched if they refuse to listen to explanation or reason as they will make you doubt yourself. Part of the route to acceptance, and therefore progress, is the recognition that your life has to change in order to exist in a life with Fibromyalgia. You have to get rid of as much stress as possible in order to get the most out of your new life. Anger at your limitations is counter-productive and in the end only causes your symptoms to worsen.

So if at all possible ditch those that criticize you and question your disability and draw close those who make the effort to understand, empathise and make adjustments in your friendship/relationship to accommodate the new 'you' and the limitations this illness can force on you.