6 ways Star Wars has helped with Fibromyalgia

Dear Purple Butterflies, 

I have been a Star Wars fan ever since I was very young. Immediately I was intrigued with the force, and I wanted to be Princess Leia for a couple of reasons, one of them being so I could marry Han Solo. If you’re like me, and have been paying attention, you know the Obi-Wan Kenobi series comes out this Friday on Disney Plus. I have been anticipating this show for a long time now. It’s very exciting! Did you know that it’s the forty-fifth anniversary of the fourth installment, A New Hope? To celebrate both things, I have come up with a list combining Fibro and Star Wars. Without further ado, here is what I came up with for my list!
 
6 ways Star Wars has helped us with Fibromyalgia

1. Meditation – Within the Star Wars universe, it is known that the Jedi Masters meditate. When Luke Skywalker asks Master Jedi, Yoda about his friend’s fate. Yoda tells him that it is “difficult to see; always in motion the future is.” “Mindfulness meditation may provide an effective complementary treatment approach for fibromyalgia patients, especially when combined with other reliable techniques (exercise; cognitive behavioral therapy). However, characterizing the specific analgesic mechanisms supporting mindfulness meditation is a critical step to fostering the clinical validity of this technique. Identification of the specific analgesic mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based pain relief could be utilized to better design behavioral interventions to specifically target fibromyalgia-related outcomes.”{Mindfulness Meditation for Fibromyalgia: Mechanistic and Clinical Considerations} When you stop and think about it, that is a very wise statement that can be applied to anything. We don’t know what the future of Fibromyalgia will hold. We know that we live within an age of technology, so common sense would say things can only go up from here. I choose to believe that I will see changes of improvement for patient care within the illness. I have meditated a few times. Mainly my preferred way meditating is going out in nature and praying.  
2. Strong leaders – There are many strong leaders throughout the Star Wars universe. During the movies, the characters have support systems to lean on each other. They can’t do everything on their own. The important thing to take away with this segment is don’t be swayed to the dark side. Remember who your true friends are. They are the people who will always be there, no matter what. If you encounter people that don’t believe you when there is talk about your condition. Forget them! You don’t need them. They may stop inviting you to parties. It’ll be okay. Trust me, I’ve been there. They may even stop talking to you all together. You are stronger than you know. Your true friends will always outnumber your false friends. Before you know it, you will be each other’s strong leaders. 
3.  Another way to look at things - During A New Hope, Han Solo doubts that the force even exists. “Han Solo: [laughs] Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.Luke Skywalker: You don't believe in the Force, do you? Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.”{View Quote ... Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ... Movie Quotes Database  } Later in the movie, he is convinced that it is all real. Although you never hear him say it in the original trilogy, you do hear him talk about it in seventh episode, The Force Awakens. "It's true. All of it. The dark side. The Jedi. They're real".{The most famous Han Solo quotes from Star Wars }.When I tell others about my Neurostimulation back surgery, I get a lot of interesting reactions. I must admit, when I first heard about it, I was a little skeptical too. Would this tiny thing help replace a major medication that I’d be used to taking? It’s the unknown that scares us. It was easier than I thought. I was given a trial before I even had the surgery. Now that it’s all over, I am so glad I had the surgery! This is coming from me, someone who used to be terrified of surgery! You can find the link for the blog about my surgery at the bottom of this article.
4.  Don’t judge a book by its cover   - Whether you’re talking about Ewoks on Endor, Luke (being teased about his height as a storm trooper), or R2-D2 we’ve learned to not judge them by appearances. They’ve proven that they’re a force to be reckoned with. I know for a fact my fellow Fibro purple butterflies can relate to this. Our invisible illness leaves us vulnerable for hurtful comments. As hard as it will be, try your best to ignore the comments. If you do not respond, the person spouting off the hurtfulness will stand out more. This is important because you want others to see what they are really like. 
5.  Small things – Just like all well written movies, Star Wars has a rhythm. Things start out fine, something goes wrong and then most of the time they are fixable towards the end of the show. The same can be true everyday with patients dealing with a chronic illness. Wait, what? Hold on, I will explain. Every single day I wake up, I never know how my body is going to be for the rest of the day. I might rise hurting, but that doesn’t mean it will last. So, in that case I can go and do a bit of exercising. I am trying to move more so I am not so stiff. I realize that I have my limitations. Hence, the small things count. I may not be able to leave the house today, but I did a load of laundry. Tomorrow depending on how things go, I might be able to go to the zoo. Little things that add up make a big difference in the end. I would rather do a few things a day, than a lot one day and not be able to move for a week because of it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help around the house! If you live by yourself, do one room at a time. I have a plan where I take a room a month (excluding the kitchen and bathroom of course). 
6.  Be brave - My last, but not least tip for you, is to be brave. I already know you are. It is so hard to be in world where we hurt nonstop. In my opinion I have so many friends that remind me of the rebellion. We are all standing up to the doctors and saying we refuse to take “I don’t know” for an answer. We’re tired of not being heard by the powers that be. This year, I signed up to the Fibro Summit to show my support. I also had a fundraiser on my birthday and raised a decent amount of money. If you contributed to it, thank you so much once again! It means so much! 

 
I hope ya’ll enjoyed my Star Wars themed Fibromyalgia blog and it helped you think of things in a fun way. Did you think of anything from the trilogy that could also be applied to Fibro? I’d love to know your thoughts! As always, please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!
 
Be well!
 
~ Rachel