"A waiting person is a patient person." - Henri J.M. Nouwen

Argh! Have you ever felt impatient at a red light, or irritated at the end of a long line for your prescription at the pharmacy? You're not alone.

Patience can feel scarce when you don't have control over a situation. It can feel like fibromyalgia interrupted your life and brought a slew of frustrations at the worst moments. Finding a tiny bit of control can bring us patience later.

Control might look like self-care: a walk around the block, getting up early for 15 minutes of alone time, spending time each week encouraging others who have fibro or starting a gratitude journal. Don't let anyone (including yourself!) make you feel guilty for taking care of yourself.

Here are some conversations about patience on MyFibroTeam:

• "You are all amazing and wonderful at getting through each day with your pains, etc. Continue to be you and keep battling against it, you will get where you want to be eventually. Patience, time, self-care and love, and be proud of yourselves for every little thing you achieve. Positive thinking is healthy."

• "My mind is the "me" part of this equation, keen and willing & my body is the other half, the illness, the unhelpful difficult part of my life. But apply reason I shall & negotiate I will, for life is full of challenges. This challenge can be managed. Patience is required, I am learning to be more so. Each day I remind myself that compared to other peoples life challenges & battles my situation is a breeze."

• "Patience is the art of not comparing my present condition with a preferred condition. I mean, that's mental torture. So I spent a long time dragging my mind away from its tendency to make that comparison until it became a mental habit to not compare, just as it was a mental habit once to compare."

Have you found ways to take back control and practice patience? What do you do to be more open to self-care? Share your insights in the comments below or directly on MyFibroTeam.com.