Fibromyalgia and Depression

Fibromyalgia can cause depression and anxiety.  I definitely have had anxiety and depression since being diagnosed.  I have struggled with both since I was in high school.  I learned coping skills for both when I was in my twenties, but recently they both came back into my life.  I remembered most of my coping skills, but I asked for medication to ward off the edge of the anxiety.  My first real flare kind of freaked me out.  Since I wasn't sure what I did to feel as bad as I did, I was scared anything I did would make me have another flare.  I first asked for medication to keep the anxiety from getting to overwhelming and I made an appointment to talk to a therapist.  

I was a little depressed by the time I found out I had fibromyalgia.  I think seeing the therapist every two weeks has helped me to cope better.  I am not depressed anymore, and I am not having panic attacks.  I have done quite a few things to help these issues as well, besides see the counselor. But talking to someone has really helped me to not get bogged down in the negative aspects about fibromyalgia, or the worry.  A few months ago, I was questioning whether I would ever be the same, would I ever have a life worth living.  I decided I was going to figure out a way to have fibromyalgia and to have a decent life as well.

For depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia there is a common issue that can cause each of these diseases to become worse, and that is lack of sleep.  I have recently been trying to increase my quality of sleep, and I think this has helped with the depression and the anxiety. I feel better in the mornings, I don't take naps but I do rest.  I used to sleep on my stomach, and I recently realized this caused pain in my right shoulder.  When I sleep on my stomach I don't know what to do with my arms.  My right arm ends up over my shoulder under my pillow, and this cause it to hurt and ache through the night and into the next morning.  I found sleeping on my right side hugging a body pillow helps keep me on my side and I sleep better.  My energy levels doubled through Welltory.  I bought a pillow for side sleepers and so far I feel better in the morning.  

I also established a sleep schedule that worked for me.  I used the Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to help guide me.  I set my sleep schedule for 9:30pm until 5am.  I need to be up by 5-5:30am to take my daughter to the bus stop, and I want seven to eight hours of sleep.  I am supposed to turn off all screens two hours before, but I chose an hour before I wanted to be asleep.  At 8:30pm I take ten minutes to write down all the things I am worried about or need to talk about.  I write down a to-do list for the next day.  I write for ten minutes even if I don't have much to write.  I call this my stress dump.  I usually dictate this to my phone or type it.  It is easier for me to type rather than write.  

After I write out my stress dump, I find a meditation to listen to and do off of Calm or Spotify.  After the meditations,  I find some calming sleep music on my favorite music app.  I turn off any lights and then use this to fall asleep.  I have found taking my muscle relaxer at 7pm and then the rest of my nighttime meds at 8:30pm helps to keep me from being overly groggy in the morning.  Trying this sleep schedule has improved my sleep and my energy levels according to Welltory.  

Welltory uses my heart rates and heart rate variability to determine if I need to take it easy or if I can exercise a little.  It helps me to see where I am for the day.  The CBT-I has helped me tremendously in lowering my stress levels and increasing my energy levels for the day.  I am hoping with other changes like pacing these changes will keep going in the right directions.  If you try this make sure to follow what is right for your body and your illness/illnesses.

Depression is a serious condition and should be talked about with your doctor.  I know for me oversleeping and not sleeping makes depression and anxiety worse.  For me working on sleeping better has impacted my depression, but also taking medication to reduce the severity helps as well.

Thank you for reading,

Kerry C.

**Disclosure: I do not get paid for any app I recommend.  Products, I may add a link to them on Amazon for a small commission.  I use the apps I can afford and recommend products so you can find them easier.  They may or may not benefit you.  I am not a doctor, so I have no medical advice to give.  All things in my blog are my personal preferences and experience.