THIS list is written with healthy family members in mind, but the suggested strategies are appropriate for people with fibromyalgia to apply to their lives as well.

• Laughter is good medicine. Laugh together as a family and laugh often.

• Create a safe environment where everyone in your family can communicate with gut-level honesty. Expressing anger, fear, hurt, and frustration is important. "The family that cries, yells, and laughs together may stay together." ¹

• Identify sources of satisfaction in your life, and devote time to doing those things daily, if possible. If you are to function at all, you must take care of yourself ².

• Find the positive in everything. Choosing, everyday, to make it the best day you can is the key to survival ³.

• Don't squander leisure time on activities that don't fulfill you or people who drag you down.

• Develop a strong support network of people to provide emotional sustenance. This way you won't feel alone, knowing you can reach out, and someone will be there to listen, laugh and cry with.

• Make your fibromyalgia experience a spiritual journey. While this may not lead you to a deity or specific religion, it will give you a larger perspective on the universe. Through your suffering you will become aware of the suffering of others. You will be able to give to others as well as take. You will learn to make your difficulties serve you ⁴.

• Exercise regularly.

• Drink plenty of water.

• Be spontaneous.

• Learn to meditate. Focusing on the present moment, not the past or future, will help you identify your stress level and diminish it.

• "Learn to ask what you need and receive it gracefully." ⁵

2. C McGonigle, Surviving Your Spouse's Chronic Illness, (New York: Henry Holt, 1999). (Return to text)

3. McGonigle, Surviving. (Return to text)

4. McGonigle, Surviving. (Return to text)

5. ME Williamson, Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Approach, (New York: Walker and Company, 1996), 177. (Return to text)