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Sara Halevi, MA, MFCC, has been a practicing therapist for 20 years. Her
specialty is in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which she finds effective
for a variety of disorders, including fibromyalgia. As a fibromyalgia sufferer
herself, Sara has personal experience and empathy on which she can draw when
treating patients with the disease.
They Become Mentally Trapped By The Pain
"I find that most people have certain thought patterns that lead
them to specific behaviors. With people who suffer from chronic pain the
negative thought associations with their disease lead them to cognitive dead
ends. They create a loop in their minds which prevents them from pulling from
their minds a way out of their current problems. I'm lucky if I can interrupt
this pattern of thought.
For example, when a typical person with a high degree of pain and
suffering is presented with a new opportunity he will think, 'I can't.' The thought of tackling
this new thing along with a fibromyalgia attack will be overwhelming. 'I can't'
as a
response to the immediate situation tends to cancel out the possibility of achieving the task.
I help the patient break down the task and find one manageable piece enabling
him to say, 'I can do that.' Even if the manageable piece is something tiny
compared to the larger task, the ability to say, 'I can do that,' will lead to
a willingness to take on a second piece. One by one the pieces fall into place
and lead the person to, at the least, a willingness to try.
People get stuck in a trap of their own making: 'I can't get a job
because I can't get off the couch.' I try to get them to at least ask the question: 'Can
I get off the couch?'
Boosting Self-Esteem Helps
Twenty years ago, when I was just out of grad school I had a patient who
was in bed 70% of the time. She was very limited in her thinking. By the end of
the year she had a job, and she only took a little longer than most with my usual course of treatment.
She got a job reading to blind people; reading their mail, helping them with
bills and the like. We had spent a year cracking this fortress. After we were
able to sift through all the negativity we were able to find the perfect job
for her. Also, the boost to her self-esteem from helping someone else who was
needy cannot be overstated."
Want to read more about CBT? Go to:
http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_behaviour.html
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