Living with fibromyalgia may change your holidays, but you can still have enjoyable and meaningful celebrations. Although fibromyalgia may make some holiday traditions challenging, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy connecting with friends and family during the holiday season. By communicating your limitations due to fibro, being flexible, and adjusting your expectations, you can help make sure the holidays are happy and memorable.
Let your loved ones know that connecting with them over the holidays is as important as ever to you, but fibromyalgia is making it hard to plan as usual due to symptoms like exhaustion and pain. You need to put your health first or risk worsening your condition.
Instead of saying "no," say "yes" to something else. If a family tradition no longer works for you since you developed fibro, it may be time to suggest an update.
If it's just not possible to get together in one place this year, consider using a video chat service such as Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime to have a special holiday call on a smartphone or laptop. During a video chat, you can:
Even without a chronic illness like fibro, holidays often come with high expectations that lead to disappointment and stress. Letting go of the illusion of a "perfect" holiday can help you keep expectations realistic and focus on what's most important about the holidays. For many people, that means connecting with loved ones, being thankful for what you have, and finding hope for the new year.
Here are some mindful tips from Johns Hopkins Medicine for adjusting holiday expectations:
During the holidays and year-round, the members of MyFibroTeam are here for each other. Joining MyFibroTeam means gaining a support group of thousands of others with fibromyalgia who understand exactly what you're going through.
Here are some conversations from MyFibroTeam members about navigating the holiday season with fibro:
Have you found ways to celebrate the holidays despite fibro? Share in the comments below or post on MyFibroTeam.
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A MyFibroTeam Member
What would really help is if people could give me some space and remove one or more of these pressures from me. The thought of Christmas feels me with dread. The pain will go through the roof, the… read more
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