What It’s Like to Be an Empath With Fibromyalgia

Your mind affects your body. Your body affects your mind. Everything is so intricately intertwined.

• What is Fibromyalgia?
• What Are Common Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

The way we are feeling can influence our pain in many ways. I know I’m not alone when I say my symptoms improve when I am happy and free of drama and stress. Often, fibromyalgia comes hand in hand with mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. Mental health issues can worsen our physical symptoms, which can in turn cause our mental health to further decline. It’s a cruel cycle that can be difficult to escape.

We have to be very mindful of what we put our energy into, both physically and emotionally. There really is no doubt that our physical symptoms can be influenced by our emotional well-being, and vice versa.

Being an empath is both a blessing and a curse. When someone is happy, you feel their happiness. When someone is sad, you feel their sadness. Now when this is combined with fibromyalgia, the emotions of the people we surround ourselves with can dramatically influence our symptoms.

When a friend or family member is upset, we feel upset for them. The emotional pain they feel reflects onto us and translates to physical pain. This isn’t to say we can’t be there for our loved ones when they need a shoulder to cry on; we have a lot to gain from surrounding ourselves with people who love and support us, so long as we return the favor. We choose to stick around when a loved one is upset, despite the pain. It’s just the price we must pay to help our loved ones see better days.

As empaths, we are unique individuals. We are compassionate, creative dreamers and over-thinkers. We are misunderstood and taken for granted. We must hold onto the ones we can trust to appreciate us.

We are very in touch with the emotions of those around us, so we have to be very careful of who we let into our lives. We must steer clear of those who have intentions to hurt us, or those who dwell on negativity and thrive on drama. When we allow ourselves to care about those who couldn’t care less about us, it takes an emotional and physical toll.

I’ve made the mistake of helping others who took me for granted, or caring for those who didn’t care about me. It’s even more difficult when those people pretend to be there for you, but in reality, we know they’re not. It’s a common mistake us empaths make. We can be so selfless that we forget about our own well-being.

We can learn from our mistakes and put our energy into positive people and experiences. We may find ourselves becoming stronger and wiser, being able to find the roses among the thorns. We can still be empathetic while looking after ourselves. We need to trust our gut feelings and vibes. It’s like a “superpower” that we need to learn how to control.

Follow this journey on Jessica Jane Adventures.