Fibromyalgia and Sleep Therapy

by Darlene Cheek, Suite101.com

Your muscles, joints and glands are swollen, burning and painful... you may feel symptoms of depression and/or anxiety... you are exhausted... you find it harder to concentrate and form coherent thoughts (mental fog)... it gets more difficult to complete your normal, everyday tasks... you may experience irritable bowel syndrome or symptoms of arthritis... your senses may become heightened to a point where the slightest sound hurts your ears... it may become difficult to focus your eyes... sleep becomes a thing of the past.

Is this a syndrome, a disease, or a virus?  You finally take that first trip to the doctor's office.  You may be diagnosed with one of several diseases and put on a prescription regimen for depression and pain.  Does it work?  Have you been misdiagnosed?  Are the drugs you are taking helping or making you sleepier and more fatigued?

This is the battle of Fibromyalgia.  If you, a family member, a spouse, or a friend have Fibromyalgia, you are already more than too familiar with the symptoms.  My goal with this article is to help you find alternative methods to help you cope with this disease.  One point before we go on is that hypnotherapy or any other holistic therapy should never replace your physician's care, but should be used in conjunction with your health care routine.

While researching for this article, I spoke to many friends who are coping daily with Fibromyalgia and Lupus.  These diseases have quite a few of the same symptoms.  The one thing that really stood out in my mind is the problem with sleep.  Why is a good night's sleep so very important to us?  Once you reach your deep sleep period, your body begins to restore, heal and refresh itself.  Several times during the night, our sleep patterns fluctuate between light and deep sleep.  Our deep sleep is the time when we dream and experience REM (rapid eye movement).  This also our time of deepest healing.

What happens if we toss and turn so often during the night that we do not reach our deep sleep cycle?  The body and mind do not rest, refresh or heal.  So, you wake up the next morning feeling as if you never slept at all.  The wonderful thing about hypnotherapy is that you can reach "deep sleep" and experience "REM" in about 10-20 minutes.  After a half hour hypnosis session (yes, even self-hypnosis), you can feel as though you have had a complete 8 hours of sleep.  You can also use self-hypnosis to drift into your regular sleep at night, sleep through the night, and wake in the morning feeling better than you ever have.

I usually start the hypnosis session with progressive relaxation.  Since we are also dealing with a disease, I'd like to change it just a little bit.

Sleep Therapy Script:  Start by just closing your eyes down... take a deep breath... hold it... and exhale slowly... one more time... with each and every breath, you will experience a growing sense of calm and peace in your mind and body... you let go and allow yourself this time... for you... and you alone... allow your body to respond naturally... one more nice, deep breath... and relax.

I want you to picture yourself right now, just as you are, right where you're laying... get a good mental image... you will notice that there is a beautiful, white light... so white, sparkling with beautiful tones of violet... radiating around your body... you feel this pure, positive energy... this is a very healing energy, and I want you to allow it to flow in and out of your body... allow it to heal...

Just imagine now that this energy begins to flow from the very top of your head... and immediately, you begin to relax... as this pure, relaxing energy flows into your forehead, it becomes the most beautiful shade of indigo... it flows down into your eyes... your eyes become very heavy... you couldn't open them if you tried... your cheeks relax... your lips... your chin... your jaw... completely relaxed... if your mind wanders, just allow it to happen...

This beautiful energy flows down into your throat now... becoming the most lovely shade of blue you have ever seen... you can feel it's healing power... down into your shoulders... relaxing more and more... the relaxation flows down into your chest... as it nears your heart, the light becomes a brilliant, healing green... detach yourself now from any thoughts of the outside world at all... and relax even more...

The energy continues to flow through your back muscles... making them numb and warm... your arms begin to feel heavy and limp... they relax at your sides... completely relax... heavy and numb... the relaxation flows down into your ribs... right above your belly button... the light becomes yellow... it continues to flow... into your diaphragm... your breathing is so rhythmic and easy... the light becomes orange...

Almost every muscle in your body completely relaxed... your mind is at ease... your body is numb... this feeling flows down into your hips... the healing light becomes a beautiful red... the energy flows down into your thighs... your knees... your calves... your feet... and right to your toes... your legs are heavy and numb... there is no feeling is discomfort whatsoever... you are completely relaxed and comfortable...

Now find yourself in your most serene place in the universe that you can possibly imagine... imagine yourself lying there asleep... see yourself... completely relaxed... completely comfortable... asleep... allow yourself to be in this place... allow yourself to sleep a full 8 hours... and wake in the morning feeling fully rested... every muscle relaxed and refreshed... feeling better than you have ever felt before.  (end of script)

I hope this exercise finds you with many nights of peaceful sleep.  In the next article, I will add a couple of steps to this one to help with pain management.  The more you practice self-hypnosis, the better you become.  Before you begin, you may want to have a nice cup of warm chamomile tea.  Some of my Fibromyalgia friends have recommended Kava Kava or St. John's Wort.  I like to play music while I am in hypnosis... it is definitely not critical especially if your ears are bothering you.  These scripts can also be taped ahead of time and simply played after you lie down at night so you don't have to memorize them.  You can go to my web page if you'd like more information on hypnosis or if you need a script.  Sleep tight.

Recommended Books:
Fibromyalgia and the MindBodySpirit Connection by William B. Salt II, et al.
Fibromyalgia : The New Integrative Approach by Milton Hammerly
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain: A Survival Manual (2nd Edition) by Devin J. Starlanyl

© 2000 Darlene Cheek

Darlene Cheek is contributing editor to Suite101.com's Holistic Therapy site, which features articles, news, links and more. Darlene Cheek is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master with 15 years experience in Holistic Therapy methods, including Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Herbalism, Crystal Healing and more.  Visit her web site at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/holistic_therapy.

Copyright Notice: It is illegal to reprint articles, in any format (including emails, web sites, etc.), without explicit written permission from the author of this article.