I often get quite feverish with exceptional heat generating under my skin that my husband claims can heat up a room. But presently, I sit in my reading chair wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and a hoodie, a pair of jeans, and I have a blanket draped over my legs and lap. It is raining and my joints and muscles have this deep cold ache.
Apparently, this reaction to weather changes has been substantiated in several studies. “ In 2002, a study was conducted in Cordoba, Argentina, where there are four distinct seasons every year. The study involved Fibromyalgia sufferers and a healthy control group and aimed to find out whether pain symptoms could be linked to specific weather changes. Participants were asked to rate their pain symptoms on a scale from one to ten, every day for 12 months. After 12 months, these symptoms were correlated to weather patterns for the entire year. Researchers found that pain symptoms of the participants with Fibromyalgia correlated directly to weather changes. Specifically, pain increased as temperatures fell and atmospheric pressure increased. The healthy control group did not show any correlation between pain and weather patterns. Another study performed in Norway found a similar relationship between Fibromyalgia symptoms and the weather. Fibromyalgia symptoms appeared to get worse during the months of December and January, but began to improve during April and May. This suggests a direct relationship between colder temperatures and lower barometric pressures and a rise in Fibromyalgia symptoms”. http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_weather.html
Somehow knowing that this increased pain isn’t just “in my head” doesn’t really comfort me and in fact I am dreading the cold that will be settling into a daily fact. I was tempted not to post a blog today since I just wanted to settle into a chair drinking tea and reading a novel to distract me from the pain. However, I am determined to stay focused on optimizing my healing environment. I just read an excerpt from Jack Canfield’s book The Success Principles and I don’t really know how to respond to his statement: You either create or allow everything that happens to you. By create, I mean that you directly cause something to happen by your actions or inactions.” Again, I know I didn’t “create” this illness; however, I am determined to wrestle with this statement to extract any gems of truth from it that may help me cope with these weather changes. I checked on the Internet for some suggestions and there were only the obvious recommendations of dressing in layers and keeping the extremities warm. I suppose I could add soaking in a hot bath that has lots of Epsom Salts. And I could continually put linament on my fingers to help the joints move more easily. However, I actually feel that outside of moving to a drier climate, I really don’t have many options to choose from. And yet, Jack Canfield’s statement tells me I DO have options!! Perhaps due to my dread of weather changes and due to my expectations that these weather changes will definitely impact my health, negative thinking may not be helping me cope with what happens to my body. Somehow I must create more positive expectations when the weather begins to pummel me. I have to create a new association replacing the dread with acceptance. I accept this pain since I know it is temporary and when it occurs I will associate it with some good, positive things. That is, I will create a warm, cozy, positive environment in which I give myself permission to indulge in some small pleasures. For example, I could put on the fireplace, light some candles, watch a fun movie – and indulge in a few chocolates, or other favorite snacks. Wow, I’m already having a different attitude about this rain!!
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