Help From Family & Friends
Fibromyalgia is an invisible illness which can make it difficult for family and friends to understand the condition. This is because sufferers can have good and bad days with no two days or even hours being the same. But there are lots of things that someone can do to support a loved one suffering with Fibro.
Educate yourself:
- Start by finding out about the condition and its symptoms and how that affects your loved one on a daily basis. This will not only help you understand them better but will also enable you to be more sympathetic as well.
Help them find a daily routine:
- The key to being able to manage Fibro is knowing your boundaries and only do what you can when you can.
- By helping your loved one find a daily routine that works for them will help them achieve this.
Support them to keep up with daily activities:
- Offer encouragement to your loved one to keep active. Although they are in constant pain even a small amount of movement and exercise can help low that pain making it easier to manage.
Remind them it is ok to stop if they don’t feel up to something:
- Family and friends can be supportive by not judging their loved one if they are unable to attend social gatherings or are unable to do everyday tasks.
- Someone in a flare needs to rest or symptoms become worse and learn to say no to others is one of the hardest things to have to do, especially if you were a very sociable person before Fibro.
Provide emotional support:
- Fibromyalgia can have a huge impact on someone’s mental health. Here is where you can play an important part by being there to support them and listen to their worries and concerns.
- Most sufferers have low self esteem and depression which results in them feeling isolated and that no one really understands them so by give them some quality time and being a good listener encouraging them to talk about their condition can help more that you realise.
Offer help:
- Most Fibro sufferers feel guilty and a burden to family and friends and find it very hard to ask for help, so try to offer help as and when you can.
- Try to get into the habit of asking them if they need your help this will start to make them feel more comfortable in accepting help.
It is possible for your loved one to live a good life with Fibro if you are able to give them the help and support, they need to manage their condition. However, remember if you are supporting someone with Fibro then it will also have an impact on you as well so finding support for yourself is really important whether it is a network of friends or from Fibro support groups.
Find what works for you so that you don’t experience ‘Caregiver Burnout’ because then you will be no use to anyone.
THE LINK TO OUR RESEARCH.
https://www.londonpainclinic.com/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia-how-can-family-and-friends-help/
THE LINK TO OUR SOURCES.
THE REASON FOR USING THESE RESOURCES.
To be able to give family and friends of those with Fibromyalgia a better understanding of the help and support they can offer their loved ones in managing the condition