★★★★☆
My mom has suffered from fibromyaliga for about 20 years. Mostly in the form of pain in her back and shoulders, with bouts of chronic fatigue. Took Hydrocodone for all that time and just suffered through it, continuing to work because she loves her job as manager of a health food store. Has tried every herbal remedy out there (she's very knowledgeable and best friend is an ND), and some other alternative therapies such as acupuncture and detoxing through the feet. Some things gave temporary relief but that was all.
I've believed for many years that the root cause for all her problems were emotions she had not dealt with. My mom is a pacifist (sometimes passive aggressive but hates confrontation), and has a background of abuse and feeling unloved and unsupported, with the exception of us kids. Her symptoms all began after we all moved "out of the nest". In the following years I noticed that symptoms worsened during stressful and emotional times. In my heart and gut I KNEW her emotions were making her manifest pain physically. I didn't know how that was possible, but I just knew.
Seven years ago I got into a happy marriage and had a child, our closeness and daily communication took a hit, resulting in a sort of separation between us, and that - I believe - was the last straw for her. She went rapidly downhill from there. It culminated in a nervous breakdown this past summer which brought on new symptoms: brain fog that very much resembled dementia in its severity, SEVERE fatigue, hearing and seeing things, and more pain than ever. My father was scared to death and broke down with me on the phone one day crying. I resolved in that moment to find a way to help her and thus began my journey that I'm sharing here.
After praying for guidance, and weeks of frantic research on this site and others, I stumbled upon Mickel Therapy and also a book by Dr. John Sarno about Mindbody medicine. It changed the way I looked and pain and other symptoms and in my heart I KNEW this was the solution. In essence, when there are emotions that that aren't processed or dealt with properly, a physical manifestation in the form of various symptoms begins to happen. Sarno's book says that our mind distracts us from having to deal with painful emotions by creating symptoms in our bodies. Mickel therapy is a bit different, saying that unprocessed emotions affects the hypothalmus gland which then goes into overdrive and creates unwanted symptoms. Bottom line is that it all goes back to emotions wreaking havoc. Sounds awfully simplistic, doesn't it? But I knew it was worth pursuing because everything else had been tried, and because I'd known all along that her problems were tied to her emotions, and now I knew exactly how.
So I shared all that information with my parents and began a sort of "coaching" with them both about learning to talk about emotions, which was a bit of a process because my parents don't talk about such things (hence her problems). I continued praying for guidance, talking with her, and mended our relationship. I laid out for her a timeline of sorts to show my theories on WHY her symptoms started (us leaving home), and the progression of them over time as they related to emotional issues in her life. It was hard because of her severe brain fog... Sometimes an uphill battle, but she is getting better!
The confusion is dramatically improved, as is her pain and energy levels. Her and my dad are talking all the time, and have even had a few dates. Their relationship is slowly improving because of all of this, which is nearly as miraculous as the improvements in her symptoms. She still has a ways to go, and will have to continue to practice this new way of thinking of her body and illness, but she is on the road to recovery. I am so far beyond grateful that I was led to the knowledge I was so I could bring my Mom back to us. I urge everyone to read and research more about this powerful link between mind, body, and emotions.
