Social support is an important aspect of wellness. Providing support to others is a simple gift with profound effects. There is great wisdom in the advice that helping others is therapy for the self. It takes a clear commitment to take the focus off our immediate situation and concentrate on someone else's needs. There is also an indirect opportunity to learn from the experience of giving. It doesn't have to be a huge effort, just a sincere effort.
What happens if you feel you are not supported by your friends and family? Isolation can produce very damaging emotions. In the case of fibromyagia, the sufferer may not feel understood. It is not easy to relate to the effects of fibromyalgia. Avoidance is a non-productive way of reacting. Understanding the nature of fibromyagia requires one to have an open mind. If someone is not ready to do that, there is loss in the relationship. Someone dealing with fibromyalgia often has to have an open mind to others' closed mindedness. Many have to be posess patience when faced with it. Realizing there is a lack of understanding is important to conserving energy for activities that will have positive results such as taking the pressure off people who are not as supportive as we would like them to be and transferring that energy to better objectives. Emotional pain is unpleasant for everybody. People with fibromyalgia often have a keen ability to empathize with others.
Getting others to share in our joys and disappointments is like fishing. Some will bite and be a great source of inspiration and companionship. Others may never nibble on the line for various reasons, usually fear or feelings of inadequacy. The experience of fibromyalgia can make one very wise and patient. Others may not have physical pain similar to fibromyalgia, but they may have a different type of deficiency that makes coping with it a challenge. We all have the choice to take a direct path and face our problems, or wander around in circles. If we look for folks to tag along with, we usually find them. Welcome the rest, but don't force them to follow you if they don't want to. Remain helpful and help those who appreciate your assistance.
