Fibromyalgia and Repressed Anger
Fibromyalgia, Repressed Anger, Chiropractic Therapy
It has been my experience that the majority of patients I
encounter with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia have chronic unresolved emotional
issues. Usually, it is some form of unresolved anger or grief, and usually some
form of persistent anxiety or apprehension.
Now that is a bold and sweeping statement, and I appreciate
that a disease as complex as fibromyalgia will have many different components
to it. This is definitely not a one-size-fits-all statement. Yet the pattern
persists.
And I’ve had some people become quite annoyed because I
asked if they considered if unresolved issues were somehow a factor in their
illness. I expect their unwillingness to
explore the question was defensive of the implication that their fibromyalgia
was somehow “in their heads.” To which I sympathize. People with fibromyalgia
yearn for legitimization that they do indeed have a “real” disease. Yet an inability to even explore the question
may keep people locked in their pattern of mind-body dissonance.
It is not such a radical idea that the mind and body are
intricately interlinked and that what is unresolved in one part, may negatively
affect the other. There is credible research that supports, that for many
people diagnosed with fibromylagia, personality types, emotional intelligence,
and life circumstances play a huge role in the complex web of factors that
foments this debilitating condition. A few examples are listed below.
Over my many years in chiropractic practice, I have come to
appreciate that easily 2/3 of conditions I treat originate, or are strongly
influenced by emotional factors. And 2/3 of the conditions I treat are more
mechanical in nature. That extra 1/3 would be the overlap between the two.
I have also come to appreciate that, often, when I put my
hands on a patient’s upper back, there is a different feel to the muscles when
the person is dealing more with an emotional injury, than physical. More so,
the degree and generality of tension throughout the upper back, neck, and
shoulders.
It is not so much that anger gets locked into the body, more
so that emotional and physical patterns become interlinked and chronic. When
the physical pattern is relieved, often the emotional pattern is free to be
expressed. I have had patients break into tears when they are finally able to
relieve their angst.
Along with my Doctor of Chiropractic qualifications, I also
hold a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology. When appropriate, some
empathetic questioning can help a patient understand where deeper issues are operative.
Fibromyalgia is a complex disorder where one factor triggers
the next in a cyclic web pattern. We can argue if anger is the start or the
result of fibromyalgia, yet it is part of the cycle. If we can intervene at any
point of the cycle, we can reduce the impact.
Along with physical healing – massage and adjustment where
appropriate, eating healthy, quality and quantity of rest, invigorating
exercise, nurturing the spiritual self…. emotional healing can also play a significant
role.
If you, or someone you care about is afflicted with
fibromyalgia… please arrange a no obligation consultation and perhaps allow me
to work with you.
Best regards, Dr. Wayne Coghlan
There is much information on fibromyalgia on the internet,
some of it good. One has to be careful, however, to discern the useful
information from what is, at best entertaining, and some that may be harmful. I
usually look at the source of the information and if it is research based
rather than someone’s opinion or anecdotal information. A stronger source of
credible information is Google Scholar – which allows access to academic
research.
Rather than restate the background information on the
disease, I will refer the reader to the following sites for reference. What I
do wish to address is the connection between fibromyalgia and repressed anger.
Please read on…..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
There is a good body of knowledge that personality and
emotions can play a significant role in the onset and aggravation of
fibromyalgia. In particular unresolved anger can manifest in an emotional –
psychological – neurochemical - physical cycle that, if it does not
precipitate, can aggravate the ongoing condition.
A few examples:
“Anger towards oneself, which is
anger-in, was higher in patients with fibromyalgia patients than in the
rheumatoid arthritis sample. A stepwise regression model showed that the
anger-out scores and the anxiety scores predicted the level of pain severity,
and this explained 32% of the variance in the fibromyalgia syndrome group.
Although anger-in is consistently higher in fibromyalgia patients, it is the
behavioral expression of anger, together with anxiety, that predicts the
severity of the pain.” Kemal Sayar,
Huseyin Gulec,
Murat Topbas.
Alexithymia and anger in patients with
fibromyalgia. Clinical Rheumatology.
October 2004, Volume 23, Issue 5,
pp 441-448. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10067-004-0918-3
“Through biological and behavioural
mechanisms, patients with fibromyalgia may also show an increase of pain in
response to emotions. Anger, and how it is regulated, may be particularly
important in chronic pain.”…”Our study suggests that anger and a general
tendency to inhibit anger predicts heightened pain in the everyday life of
female patients with fibromyalgia. Psychological intervention could focus on
healthy anger expression to try to mitigate the symptoms of fibromyalgia.” Henriët Van Middendorp, Mark A. Lumley, Mirjam
Moerbeek, Johannes W.G. Jacobs, Johannes W.J. Bijlsma, Rinie Geenen., Effects of anger and anger regulation
styles on pain in daily life of women with fibromyalgia: A diary study. European
Journal of Pain Volume 14,
Issue 2, pages 176–182, February 2010. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2009.03.007
This study demonstrates increased
negative emotions and decreased positive emotions, as well as increased
emotional-avoidance strategies, in women with fibromyalgia. Henriët van Middendorp,
Mark A. LumleyJohannes, W.G. Jacobs, Lorenz J.P. van DoornenJohannes, W.J. Bijlsma, Rinie Geenen., Emotions and emotional approach and
avoidance strategies in fibromyalgia.,
Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
Volume 64,
Issue 2 , Pages 159-167, February 2008
http://www.jpsychores.com/article/S0022-3999%2807%2900328
Repeated traumatic experiences
during childhood and as adults can be discovered in many cases, which helps to
understand some of the difficulties met in psychotherapy with FMS
patients. Modified psychotherapy techniques are recommended using pain-centered
behavioral methods initially, and progressing only later to an insight
orientated approach. P. Keel,
Psychological and psychiatric aspects of
fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)., Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie,
December 1998, Volume 57, Issue 2
Supplement, pp S97-S100
Key words: chiropractor, collingwood, fibromyalgia,
counsellor, counselor, psychologist, psychology, psychotherapy, anger,
repressed anger, mind body, Coghlan, pain, aching, Anger management, Anger Management Collingwood, Anger Management Collingwood. Anger management, Collingwood, Collingwood Psychology Counselling, counseling, counselling, Counselling Collingwood Ontario, Counselling Psychology, Divorce, Divorce support, Emotional Eating, Family and Marital Counselling, Family and Marital Counselling; Stress Management, Men's Counselling, Men's issues, mind body, Personal psychology and counselling, Poem, Poetry, psychology, Psychology Counselling, Robert Service, separation support, Stress Management, Successful Weight Loss, suicide, Suicide prevention, The Quitter
Comments