If you put a gun to my head and said, "Tell me the one thing that turned your life around with fibromyalgia, and you can only choose one." That one thing would be learning the fine art of self-care, learning how to listen to my body and give her what she needs so she can heal. This is the #1 thing that will make the biggest difference in how you feel. It is also the hardest part of the job. Taking care of yourself when you don't feel good or when you're frustrated with your body can be so, so challenging.

Key Points

• Self-care means self-love, but it goes beyond an emotion we feel. Self-care means treating ourselves the way we would treat someone that we care about and treating ourselves the way we would treat someone who we are responsible for taking care of.
• A caring environment is always healthier than a bullying environment, which is actually what most of us are providing ourselves when we try to make ourselves feel better. You just can't heal if you are always berating yourself or pushing yourself to your breaking point.
• We are teaching others how to treat us by how we treat ourselves.
• We are also teaching others how they should take care of themselves by how we take care of ourselves.
• Saying NO, and practicing good self-care, is what allows you to spend your energy, brain power, and good days on the things that are most important to you.

Links & Resources

• FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital companion to this audio magazine, where you can find full show notes, links to the studies referenced in this episode, submit your questions for Tami Stackelhouse, and schedule a free consultation with a Fibromyalgia Coach.
• Get a free copy of Tami's book, Take Back Your Life: Find Hope and Freedom From Fibromyalgia Symptoms and Pain at FibromyalgiaPodcast.com/books.
• Access the bonus resources and worksheets from this episode at FibromyalgiaPodcast.com/resources.