The new employment rules for sick and disabled people will undoubtedly send many Fibromyalgia sufferers into a downward spiral of pain and anxiety. This invisible disability which affects close to 2 million people in the UK is a pain and fatigue condition described as a Central Sensitivity Syndrome. All the symptoms are worsened by stress. Those affected by Fibromyalgia are generally busy, active, responsible people who continue to ‘manage’ until the condition stops them in their tracks. Their lives are turned upside down by the unrelenting muscle pain, random and variable fatigue plus other associated debilitating symptoms. The employment issues surrounding this complex condition centre on professional awareness and the need for sufferers to explain the impact that Fibromyalgia has on daily life. As there is no blood test to prove Fibromyalgia’s existence and sufferers look quite well, stress levels can rocket skywards when trying to describe symptoms and their affects to apparently sceptical people.
However, help is at hand in my book “The Fibromaylgia Coach” which addresses the practical issues of living with a chronic pain and fatigue condition. Providing strategies and vital skills (including how to keep and track evidence-based information for use in any formal meeting on which your future may depend), action points, self-help questions and real-life stories which can support your need to keep involved in what happens to you, and to take control instead of feeling that life is controlling you.
It’s all tried and tested. I used all these things in my own journey to bring my life back into balance in spite of having Fibromyalgia, and now my readers and coaching clients are saying that their lives are improving because they are using the strategies too. Visit www.amethystaccordlifeservices.com for more info. Good luck, you can do it!
