I was at a lecture on fibromyalgia the other day at Sherman Oaks Hospital. The speaker, an MD from UCLA, was very detailed, as well as compassionate. But she didn’t mention that one theory, and one that I have seen to hold water over and over in my twenty-six years of practice, is that fibromyalgia often originates from a memory of abuse. Sexual abuse to be exact. Back in the 80s when the prevalence of sexual abuse was beginning to be realized, fibromyalgia was also popping up everywhere and it made sense.

In her lecture the MD didn’t acknowledge this as a strong possibility of cause until I asked her outright. Immediately agreeing there was a correlation she said little further. This is a good example of our different trainings. Although she she obviously knew this to be true she hadn’t incorporated this aspect in her lecture.

It is so important to look for the body-mind connection in any condition or disease. In my experience the body is always telling a story. The faster we acknowledge this the faster we can heal. And this is not to say there are many techniques and treatments that can alleviate pain while taking the time to get to the root cause. By managing healing from a holistic perspective, those suffering with fibrolmyalgia can chop years off the time needed to free themselves of this insidious and debilitating condition.