Mental Health Clinician
The pain symptoms caused by Fibromyalgia, no matter the severity, have an impact on your mental health. Chronic pain can change every aspect of your life, from work and relationships to rest and recreational activities. Over time people who suffer chronic pain are at a significantly greater risk for stress, anxiety, and depression.
When pain causes professional and social networks to deteriorate, such as no longer being able to work or enjoy time in social settings, the cycle of anxiety, depression, and stress is perpetuated. Commonly, these mental health conditions go untreated they can act as a stimulating factor for Fibromyalgia pain symptoms.
If you feel that you need to talk about anything, our in-house Mental Health Clinician, Kimberley Roberts LCSW is available as a resource for you. Kimberley uses a combination of goal-focused treatment methodologies to help Fibromyalgia patients reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress which in turn helps reduce physical pain symptoms.
Treatment Methodologies
Many Fibromyalgia patients experience some form of a major traumatic event near the time when symptoms first arise. Although most people will have a traumatic event during their lifetime, everyone is affected differently in terms of the severity and lasting impact on everyday life.
Trauma is a powerful life experience, and for many people, no amount of time or treatment changes the fact that the traumatic event(s) occurred. The main goal when treating patients for trauma is not to eliminate that the event happened, but to gain insight and perspective from the experience to help the patient return to normal functioning.
Does this mean my pain symptoms are in my head?
No, absolutely not.
Fibromyalgia pain symptoms are real physical pain, and there is an abundance of new evidence that links traumatic life events to the onset of Fibromyalgia symptoms in some patients.
Seeking help to confront a traumatic event may be challenging, but methodologies such as Mindfulness, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Cognitive Processing Therapy have been proven to reduce pain symptoms and increase the quality of life in Fibromyalgia patients.
If you are interested in talking to Kimberley Roberts LCSW during your treatment at Colorado Fibromyalgia Center, feel free to reach out by phone at (303) 665-8444, or inquire the next time you are in our office!