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A MyFibroTeam Member asked a question 💭
Detroit, MI

I love Christmas but I always get stressed, even when I was younger and did not have fibro. This year has been the worst one yet, my anxiety is off the charts. It didn’t help that I hosted Thanksgiving this year, I haven’t done it since I got fibro. Cooking that big dinner and trying to give my attention to a very hyper 2 year old boy that only wants Nana (me) I was busy from 9am to midnight. Friday I couldn’t get off the couch, that’s the day I start putting up all our holiday decorations and… read more

December 3, 2019
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Answer Summary

Members warmly connected over the challenge of managing holiday stress with fibromyalgia, celebrating one member's determination to maintain... Read more

Members warmly connected over the challenge of managing holiday stress with fibromyalgia, celebrating one member's determination to maintain cherished traditions like decorating the tree with family despite experiencing severe pain and exhaustion after hosting Thanksgiving. Several members shared practical strategies that have helped them reduce holiday overwhelm, including catering meals instead of cooking, scaling back to smaller tabletop trees, spacing out decorating over multiple days, and letting go of gift-giving traditions in favor of simply spending quality time together. A recurring theme was the importance of being gentle with yourself, releasing rigid timelines and perfectionism, and recognizing that preserving your health matters more than checking every item off a holiday to-do list.

A MyFibroTeam Member

That was funny Deb. Penelope may be saying Duck...Duck...Goose. For awhile anyways. 🤣

December 3, 2019
A MyFibroTeam Member

This disease is so frustrating! I hate it! I catered my Thanksgiving dinner this year and it helped a lot. All I had to do was heat up everything and my hubbie cleaned up. Your tree is gorgeous! This year we went to a table-top tree. It is 3 -1/2 ft tall and prelit. I miss our big tree but it is not worth the pain.. sometimes we create our own stress so I try not to scedule too many things too close together. I would say since my fibro has gotten so bad, I live my life in “smaller pieces of pie”.

December 4, 2019
A MyFibroTeam Member

NO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING! Get this idea out of your head because it will make you crazy. Stop putting time limits on yourself because each day you can feel different. It may take you a while to complete some things, so what? Your health is what's important. Maybe give the decorating to your daughter and space it out during the weekend. I'm 62 and it's taken me this long to figure it out. Good luck and treat yourself gently and with love.

December 7, 2019
A MyFibroTeam Member

Our Christmas tree is up. We used to go absolutely overboard with a huge fresh tree full of decorations. Now we enjoy our "Charlie Brown" tree and love to hear the laughter when people - including family - look at it. Hubby and I usually go to a local church dinner on Christmas day (I give a generous donation toward the community meal). And, our children make sure that one day during the Christmas holiday period we are all together at one of their homes. That takes the pressure off me to decorate an indoor tree. We do have green and red ribbons + bows decorating the outside front porches and entry. And, we enjoy playing Christmas music - the old fashioned kind. I don't now stress over gift giving as we no longer exchange gifts. We're not being "scroogie". The kids have told us they don't want or need anything but our love. And, in return, we have everything we need including our children's love.

December 5, 2019
A MyFibroTeam Member

Dear Penelope, don’t be too hard on yourself..lol. It is hard to figure out what we can do vs what we can’t do.

December 4, 2019

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