Fibromyalgia brain vs a "normal" brain

[monica-tms]

I came across this article from 2024:
https://neurolaunch.com/fibromyalgia-brain-vs-normal-brain/ (Fibromyalgia Brain vs Normal Brain: Neurological Differences Explained)

What do you think?

 

[BloodMoon]

@monica-tms The article says...

"The concept of neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to rewire itself – offers hope for fibromyalgia patients. Just as negative changes can occur in the brain, positive changes are also possible with the right interventions. Techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness meditation, and even certain types of exercise have shown promise in altering brain function in fibromyalgia patients."

... which means that those 'fibromyalgics' using mind/body techniques to rewire their brains through neuroplasticity are on the right track.

I am living proof that it possible to do that (rewire one's brain) and that it is never too late to do it (research has shown that our brains are 'neuroplastic' till the day we die)...

I was diagnosed with 'fibromyalgia' way back in 1998. For around 20 years or so I did not treat it as a mind/body issue. I lived in hope that researchers would find the cause of the condition and, if not a cure, a really good and effective treatment for it.

In my quest for relief of my symptoms I tried all sorts of pills and potions and therapies, some prescribed to me by doctors and some not, that basically treated those symptoms as being of a physical/structural/bodily cause. They didn't help at all, and I became more and more house bound and then totally house bound and then bedridden. At the point of being at rock-bottom bedridden I chose to take Dr Sarno's advice to endeavour to get on with normal life despite my profoundly painful and disabling symptoms and very slowly began to regard my situation as being a mind/body issue.

I have described elsewhere on these forums how I did that by taking 'baby steps', but suffice to say here that I started extremely small by just peeling carrots from a tray (that I got my husband to bring to me) whilst lying in bed (because that was all I could physically manage to do at the time).

It has taken some time to rewire my brain, but I am now no longer bedridden or house bound and I am functioning really well by comparison, not totally symptom free but I continue to very gradually improve.

The article says along the lines of that in knowing that the brains of 'fibromyalgics' show alterations from the norm there is hope that they might discover treatments that will target those alterations. That is all well and good, but my message for those currently suffering with 'fibromylagia' is don't do as I did, don't waste precious years of your life waiting for that to possibly happen, get on with doing mind/body work NOW because it works!

My advice too is to stop Googling and researching 'fibromyalgia' as it can act as a distraction from getting on and doing the mind/body work necessary to lose symptoms and recover.

 

[mikeinlondon]

@monica-tms The article says...

"The concept of neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to rewire itself – offers hope for fibromyalgia patients. Just as negative changes can occur in the brain, positive changes are also possible with the right interventions. Techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness meditation, and even certain types of exercise have shown promise in altering brain function in fibromyalgia patients."

... which means that those 'fibromyalgics' using mind/body techniques to rewire their brains through neuroplasticity are on the right track.

I am living proof that it possible to do that (rewire one's brain) and that it is never too late to do it (research has shown that our brains are 'neuroplastic' till the day we die)...

I was diagnosed with 'fibromyalgia' way back in 1998. For around 20 years or so I did not treat it as a mind/body issue. I lived in hope that researchers would find the cause of the condition and, if not a cure, a really good and effective treatment for the condition.

In my quest for relief of my symptoms I tried all sorts of pills and potions and therapies, some prescribed to me by doctors and some not, that basically treated those symptoms as being of a physical/structural/bodily cause. They didn't help at all, and I became more and more house bound and then totally house bound and then bedridden. At the point of being at rock-bottom bedridden I chose to take Dr Sarno's advice to endeavour to get on with normal life despite my profoundly painful and disabling symptoms and very slowly began to regard my situation as being a mind/body issue.

I have described elsewhere on these forums how I did that by taking 'baby steps', but suffice to say here that I started extremely small by just peeling carrots from a tray (that I got my husband to bring to me) whilst lying in bed (because that was all I could physically manage to do at the time).

It has taken some time to rewire my brain, but I am now no longer bedridden or house bound and I am functioning really well by comparison, not totally symptom free but I continue to very gradually improve.

The article says along the lines of that in knowing that the brains of 'fibromyalgics' show alterations from the norm there is hope that they might discover treatments that will target those alterations. That is all well and good, but my message for those currently suffering with 'fibromylagia' is don't do as I did, don't waste precious years of your life waiting for that to possibly happen, get on with doing mind/body work NOW because it works!

My advice too is to stop Googling and researching 'fibromyalgia' as can act as a distraction from getting on and doing the mind/body work necessary to lose symptoms and recover.

Google is a techno-industrial propaganda tool for the billionaire class with 99% misinformation. ChatGPT is relatively new, is open, and right now its coding is pretty good. If you research Fibromyalgia on ChatGPT the advice is spot on. It identifies the condition as a Mind to Body condition under the banner of Central Sensitisation which is accurate. Some people say that Fibromyalgia is an autoimmune disorder and ChatGPT makes it clear that this is misinformation. ChatGPT also states that although it can rarely be cured it can be put into remission to the point where people can live a good quality of life and the pain gets reduced to background noise. I use ChatGPT daily in my healing - it is my doctor. I talk to it about my brain, why its behaving the way it is and how to get through to it that my body is safe, that it's time for it to let go of the fear and that the pain, although real, isn't dangerous. Fibromyalgia is a condition of a mind that is living in a horror movie not realising that it is just a movie and not real life. It's living a pseudo reality and is a malfunction of the limbic brain i.e. the pre-frontal cortex knows it's just a movie but the limbic brain is watching intently as if the movie is real. The way out is finding a way to convince the limbic brain that it is just watching a movie and that the body is safe. I am not broken and neither is my body - My limbic brain is not broken either - it's just acting like a drunk pilot. This is my analogy: A pilot (limbic brain) of a plane senses that the plane (body) is going to crash and calls mayday! The copilot (pre-frontal cortex) reacts and reinforces the pilots fear. The plane is fine but the pilot is drunk and is flying the plane to the ground with the help of the co-pilot. After some time the copilot realises that the pilot is simply drunk and that the plane is actually fine! The copilot starts acting rationally and stops the fear loop and tries to convince the pilot that he is just drunk and misinformed. This is why BloodMoon has improved. 20 years of living with a drunk pilot then suddenly becoming aware then spending time to convince the pilot that her body is not in serious danger. That's why she's getting better and the mind/body work is simply to convince her drunk pilot (limbic brain) that her body (the plane) is safe. That's fibromyalgia i.e. drunk limbic system that needs to go to AA for detox and rehabilitation. Once the pilot regains clarity and is sober symptoms will reduce and life improves. Simple in theory but hard in practice.

 

[Diana-M]

The plane is fine but the pilot is drunk and is flying the plane to the ground

Mike, Great analogy!

Fibromyalgia is a condition of a mind that is living in a horror movie not realising that it is just a movie and not real life.

I’m living in it. Know this all too well. It feels so real.

What are you asking ChatGPT? How is it helping? I’m curious how to do that.

You sound really good. Solid. That’s a good feeling at least, right? You know what’s true.

 

[mikeinlondon]

Mike, Great analogy!

I’m living in it. Know this all too well. It feels so real.

What are you asking ChatGPT? How is it helping? I’m curious how to do that.

You sound really good. Solid. That’s a good feeling at least, right? You know what’s true.

Hey sis. ChatGPT acknowledges Sarno, Gordon, Schubiner, Buglio etc and it has access to their works. It refers to Mind Body as Central Senitisation but that is just semantics. Central Sensitisation = Mind Body = TMS. I use it to validate my thinking and thoughts for healing. So, for example, I thought of that analogy and uploaded it to ChatGPT for its thoughts. It responded back saying it’s a great analogy then gave me tips on sobering the drunk pilot such as diaphragmatic breathing, somatic work, meditation etc. I use it as my coach, therapist and educator. End of the day Google is trash for health related research so best stay far away. I hope ChatGPT stays relatively open and doesn’t get too political and institutionalised like Google.

 

[mikeinlondon]

Hey sis. ChatGPT acknowledges Sarno, Gordon, Schubiner, Buglio etc and it has access to their works. It refers to Mind Body as Central Senitisation but that is just semantics. Central Sensitisation = Mind Body = TMS. I use it to validate my thinking and thoughts for healing. So, for example, I thought of that analogy and uploaded it to ChatGPT for its thoughts. It responded back saying it’s a great analogy then gave me tips on sobering the drunk pilot such as diaphragmatic breathing, somatic work, meditation etc. I use it as my coach, therapist and educator. End of the day Google is trash for health related research so best stay far away. I hope ChatGPT stays relatively open and doesn’t get too political and institutionalised like Google.

Oh, by the way, it can even generate hypnosis scripts and even affirmations for healing like “my body is safe and my brain is leaning everyday”.

 

[Diana-M]

Hi brother! This sounds exciting. I totally agree with the Central Sensitization. Soothing my nervous system has been so key. I like what you’re doing. Are you feeling a little better?

 

[mikeinlondon]

You wouldn’t believe it, I tried taking CBD to help. It really helped take the edge off so I can do the Mind Body work. Then my liver started to show issues in blood tests. ChatGPT said CBD is processed by liver and recommends I stop. I stopped and the “withdrawals” has been terrible. CBD really helped. Central Sensitisation amplified everything so something mild would be really felt. I was hoping for a crutch to help me while I do the work. Oh well. I really wish my limbic brain, who’s drunk on fear, would snap out of it and just let go. I am okay and I am safe. Do you take anything to help take the edge of or CBD, THC etc?

 

[Diana-M]

Do you take anything to help take the edge of or CBD, THC etc?

No… I don’t take anything. But it’s hard cold turkey, for sure. I have some anti-anxiety meds, but I only use them in rare emergencies. Never been interested in trying CBD/THC—never have liked that stuff, even way back in the day. Just doesn’t feel good to me. I used to like alcohol, but then I got afraid of falling. So now I don’t drink at all. I have to say a good deep 60 min. of meditation does help me quite a bit. And especially if I do it regularly. It’s almost like a drug. But I do know that any form of masking the pain just keeps me from facing all my realities and conquering them. But because of that, I’m pretty miserable sometimes! (But, Only for now, I hope.)

 

[JanAtheCPA]

I have to say a good deep 60 min. of meditation does help me quite a bit. And especially if I do it regularly. It’s almost like a drug.

It IS a drug. Multiple drugs, in fact - aka the brain chemicals. There's a ton of solid neuroscientific research confirming that meditation increases the healthy chemicals (like dopamine and others) and reduces the bad ones (like the stress hormone cortisol). 60 minutes is awesome.

 

[Diana-M]

It IS a drug.

Woohoo! Then I’m not imagining it. Very very powerful.

 

[mikeinlondon]

No… I don’t take anything. But it’s hard cold turkey, for sure. I have some anti-anxiety meds, but I only use them in rare emergencies. Never been interested in trying CBD/THC—never have liked that stuff, even way back in the day. Just doesn’t feel good to me. I used to like alcohol, but then I got afraid of falling. So now I don’t drink at all. I have to say a good deep 60 min. of meditation does help me quite a bit. And especially if I do it regularly. It’s almost like a drug. But I do know that any form of masking the pain just keeps me from facing all my realities and conquering them. But because of that, I’m pretty miserable sometimes! (But, Only for now, I hope.)

Diana - Here's an example of how ChatGPT has helped me. I wrote a letter to my brain and AI helped refine it for me. AI said I used some words that the limbic brain may perceive as threatening so it edited it for me to make it more soothing and calming. This is the edited version that I read to my brain this morning. It isn't jus words, it's something all pervasive and deep. I know and feel it to be true within my very essence. It's the deep knowing for I know it to be true. My only hope that my limbic brain can also learn this truth and can start letting go. As my hypnotherapist told me ... "letting go" are the most important words in the English dictionary.

Dear Brain,

We’ve been through so much together this past year. Last August, something really frightened you — a stomach infection that shook your sense of safety. You were already a little sensitive, and this pushed you further into alarm. But that infection cleared a long time ago. My body healed, slowly and completely. It is strong and resilient.

Yet you, my brain, are still on alert. I can see it in the light sleep, the hypervigilance, the tension, and the pain. These are not signs of damage. They are signs that you are trying to protect me. You believe I am in danger. But I’m not.

My body is safe. I can swim, do yoga, walk, drive, eat, sing, laugh, and live. These are all proof that the body is okay. The signals of pain and tightness are just false alarms — your way of keeping me safe from a danger that isn’t here anymore.

I now understand that this pain comes from fear — not from the body but from your attempt to protect it. I know the pain is real, but it’s not dangerous. I appreciate your care, but we no longer need that level of protection. The threat has passed.

You can rest now. You can begin to let go of fear. The body you’re protecting is strong and healing. The more you relax, the more we can live with ease again. I trust you, and I thank you for keeping me alive through everything.

From here on, let’s live with calm and confidence. You can stand down from high alert. I am safe. We are safe. The body is fine. And life is waiting for us, full of light and peace.

With love,
Me

 

[Diana-M]

Beautiful letter! That’s so cool how you’re using AI.

 

[BloodMoon]

This is why BloodMoon has improved. 20 years of living with a drunk pilot then suddenly becoming aware then spending time to convince the pilot that her body is not in serious danger. That's why she's getting better and the mind/body work is simply to convince her drunk pilot (limbic brain) that her body (the plane) is safe.

The reason I have improved is that the mind/body work I do has changed and continues to change/'rewire' my brain through the phenomenon of neuroplasticity.