People with Fibromyalgia often ask: Am I Crazy?  Many people afflicted with chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain suffer in silence.  These unfortunate individuals have days, or even weeks, where even the most mundane of daily activities seem like a daunting of physical task.  Fatigue, brain “fog”, and hypersensitivity among other symptoms dominate minute-to-minute existence.  Indeed, for sufferers of fibromyalgia, this is a harsh reality to endure.

Yet despite these hardships, an even harsher reality is that fibromyalgia cam be very difficult to discuss with doctors or the lay public.  The symptoms are very real; however, they are also difficult to explain to those who have not experienced them.  There is no singular test that confirms the diagnosis.   There are no visible signs or bandages.   No casts signaling, “Hey, something is wrong!”  Instead, there are myriad questions such as “why do hurt so much?”, why won’t you play with me?”, or “why won’t you come with us to the beach?”.  As great as the physical pain is, the duress of not being able to live can easily equal, if not surpass, the impact of physical pain on quality of life.  As a result, patients who suffer from fibromyalgia feel like they need to soldier on in silence. They are keenly aware that the perception of others is often at odds with what they are experiencing. Over time, they may even question their own sanity. They simply ask: Am I Crazy?