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10 Good Things About My Fibromyalgia

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about being in a fibro funk. The post ended happily enough with me emerging from the funk ready to tackle another day. That was exactly how I felt at the time.

When I started my blog, I made the conscious decision to try and write only when I was feeling positive (or, at the very least, not to write when I was feeling particularly negative). The blog is called Hope in Pain after all. I wanted both a place where I could write about my feelings, as well as a place where I could send out a positive message about living with chronic pain.

The truth is, since writing about my emergence from the funk, I slipped back into it. The slip wasn’t as bad as the first time. I wasn’t wholly immersed in said funk, but let’s just say I wasn’t a ray of sunshine to be around.

Anyway, I am currently on two weeks holiday, and it’s amazing what a little rest coupled with daily walking, time with the other half and sunshine can do to lift one out of a funk. I was reminding myself of this at 5 a.m. this morning having already been awake for three hours thanks to “painsomnia.” Good times!

So, in the interest of staying positive, I set myself the task of compiling a list of the good things about having fibromyalgia. Let’s just say I like to challenge myself!

1. I appreciate my family and friends.

2. I look at the big picture.

3. I question what I want out of life and focus only on the things that really matter.

4. I set goals (health, fitness, personal, work) and stick to them.

5. I stop and smell the flowers. (Literally, I can’t walk without stopping anyway.)

6. I take care of myself.

7. I appreciate the joy in life.

8. I recognize when others are having a hard time.

9. I learn more about myself (including how strong I really am).

10. And, last but not least, having fibromyalgia has introduced me to a world full of “spoonies.” An amazing bunch of people who support one another unconditionally through words of advice, empathy and humor.

There it is! Ten good things about having fibromyalgia. And they’re not small things either, if I do say so myself. 

Follow this journey on Hope in Pain.

Lead photo source: Thinkstock Images

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Originally published: October 7, 2016
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