Stockholm Syndrome of Chronic Pain

Back when I was a medical cannabis patient and convinced I had neuropathy (spoiler alert: it was TMS!), I came across an extreme version of this at my former dispensary.

She enthusiastically approached me after overhearing that my cannabis license was new. An overview of her fibromyalgia and "fibro warrior journey" made it clear that the diagnosis had consumed her entire life, to the point that she was only 27 and had already dashed any and all hopes of having job, romantic or physical relationships, travel experiences, etc. ever again. She was on disability and admitted to spending most of her time talking to "fibro warriors" online because her family and friends could not understand her reality or provide the support she needed. Her cushioned sandals were even custom made for her symptoms. I was handed a business card which contained some contact details and the URL to her fibro blog. She said we should become BFFL and meet up to enjoy cannabis brownies and trade joint/nerve pain stories. I remember thinking that she was charismatic, intelligent (but very misguided), and gorgeous. Her life absolutely could've been so much more than what it was. I immediately thought to myself, "I cannot let this happen to me."

I did not reach out to her and I'm very glad I never went down that path. Hopefully, she can one day see her fibro for what it really is: a valid expression of the mind-body response that does indeed result in real symptoms but can be overcome. I think about her from time to time and always feel a bit sad.
 
Dorado said:
Back when I was a medical cannabis patient and convinced I had neuropathy (spoiler alert: it was TMS!), I came across an extreme version of this at my former dispensary.

She enthusiastically approached me after overhearing that my cannabis license was new. An overview of her fibromyalgia and "fibro warrior journey" made it clear that the diagnosis had consumed her entire life, to the point that she was only 27 and had already dashed any and all hopes of having job, romantic or physical relationships, travel experiences, etc. ever again. She was on disability and admitted to spending most of her time talking to "fibro warriors" online because her family and friends could not understand her reality or provide the support she needed. Her cushioned sandals were even custom made for her symptoms. I was handed a business card which contained some contact details and the URL to her fibro blog. She said we should become BFFL and meet up to enjoy cannabis brownies and trade joint pain stories. I remember thinking that she was charismatic, intelligent (but very misguided), and gorgeous. Her life absolutely could've been so much more than what it was. I immediately thought to myself, "I cannot let this happen to me."

I did not reach out to her and I'm very glad I never went down that path. I hope she can one day see her fibro for what it really is: a valid expression of the mind-body response that does indeed result in real symptoms but can be overcome. I think about her from time to time and always feel a bit sad.
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Great story! I have a similar one.

After I successfully defeated my CRPS, I tried to reach out to people of influence in that world of misery. One of the people I tried to talk to was a college professor of psychology who was doing research on CRPS. She herself had had it for 20 years. She had no interest in learning how a psychological method can completely cure CRPS, let alone spreading the knowledge. She first told me that she learned how to cope with CRPS and that it wasn't that bad, but then acknowledged that her life was very difficult because of CRPS. Still, she did not want to hear about my path to success.

I have been posting my success story on the CRPS forums, I get almost no questions from people about how I got here.
 
A professor of psychology not interested in how the mind and body respond to one another?! That simply blows my mind.

Even if she didn't assume she'd ever believe in a psychological method, you'd think she'd want to hear about someone else's experience and try to make sense of it. Especially given how severe and nasty CRPS can be - anything is worth a shot at that point, I'd say!
 
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