Explaining the reality of Fibromyalgia

It’s a real challenge trying to get people to understand Fibromyalgia because it’s such as complicated illness. For one, most people don't even know what Fibromyalgia is. Balance, brain fog and fatigue Sometimes you may struggle walking straight or sometimes walk into things or trip on air, But to other people you could just look clumsy or even drunk. Forgetting things or not being able to remember things is also frustrating, or forgetting what you are saying half way through a conversation, is incredibly difficult and embarrassing. Because sometimes we can look healthy on the outside, one of the greatest challenges we have is explaining to others how a person who looks so well can actually feel ill or be in pain. Living life as a spoonie The term 'spoonie' relates to all people who suffer with a chronic illness. Essentially it's an analogy of daily life. A person has a handful of spoons every day - sometimes they will have more, sometimes they will have less, but they represent that person’s daily energy reserves. Every activity, no matter how thoughtless and automatic, depletes from this energy supply. Getting out of bed, showering, getting dressed, eating, and any number of mundane tasks threaten to deplete energy at any given time. Some days are better than others but sometimes you run out of 'spoons'. Never judge a book by its cover The more we raise awareness, the easier it will be for people like us living with an invisible illness. People need to remember that sometimes there is so much more going on underneath the surface. As we were all taught, you should never judge a book by its cover.