The Truth About Fibromyalgia – Part 3: Trauma, Triggers, and a 7-Day Reset to Help You Regain Control

We’ve talked about the symptoms. We’ve talked about the pain, the gaslighting, and the cost. Now, it’s time to talk about something they almost never bring up in doctor’s offices or pamphlets:

The connection between trauma and fibromyalgia.

Because for a lot of us, fibromyalgia didn’t just show up out of nowhere. It came after something. After a major loss. After years of unprocessed stress. After abuse. After pushing past your limit for so long, your body finally said, Enough.

And if that’s your story, you’re not alone.

The Link Between Trauma and Fibromyalgia

Studies are finally catching up to what many of us already knew in our bones: fibromyalgia is often rooted in trauma.

According to data from 2024:

• Over 70% of people with fibromyalgia report experiencing emotional or physical trauma at some point in their lives.

• Women with a history of childhood abuse or sexual trauma are two to three times more likely to develop fibromyalgia.

• Long-term exposure to toxic stress, such as discrimination, poverty, neglect, or domestic violence, is strongly associated with chronic pain syndromes.

Here’s what’s happening in simple terms:

When your body is under stress, your nervous system goes into survival mode. Fight, flight, freeze. But if that stress never goes away, or if the trauma was never processed, your system gets stuck in high-alert mode—even years later. That constant alarm creates inflammation, drains your energy, and makes your pain receptors hyper-sensitive.

That’s fibromyalgia. It’s not weakness. It’s your body trying to protect you, and never getting the signal that you’re safe again.

The Role of the Nervous System: It’s Not Just in Your Muscles

Doctors often treat fibromyalgia like a muscle problem. But the real issue lives deeper—in your nervous system.

You’re not just dealing with tight shoulders or fatigue. You’re dealing with a brain and body caught in a trauma loop.

This loop includes:

• Chronic over-activation of the sympathetic nervous system (your stress response)

• Under-activation of the parasympathetic system (your rest-and-digest mode)

• Disrupted cortisol and adrenaline levels

• Poor vagus nerve tone, which impacts digestion, heart rate, and emotional regulation

In other words, your system forgot how to relax. It forgot how to feel safe. And until that’s addressed, real healing stays out of reach.

So How Do You Rewire the System?

Here’s what the latest science and real-life fibro survivors are teaching us in 2025:

Healing fibromyalgia isn’t just about what pills you take or what food you eat. It’s about retraining your nervous system to move out of survival mode and into regulation.

That’s where somatic therapy, breathwork, nervous system retraining programs, and gentle trauma work come in.

Some practices that are showing promise:

• Polyvagal therapy to support vagus nerve function

• Somatic Experiencing to release stored trauma

• Neuroplasticity training like DNRS (Dynamic Neural Retraining System)

• Gentle breathwork and co-regulation with others

• Safe touch, weighted blankets, and body scanning techniques

And you don’t need to do all of this at once. Start with one thing. Try it. Then build.

Your 7-Day Fibro Reset Plan

You don’t need a total life overhaul to start feeling better. But you do need a plan. Something intentional. Something doable. Something kind.

Here’s a simple 7-day fibro reset designed to help you reconnect with your body, calm your nervous system, and manage your symptoms—naturally and gently.

Day 1: Anchor Your Morning

• Wake up and sit in silence for five minutes. No phone. No noise.

• Drink a glass of warm water with lemon.

• Do three rounds of slow, deep breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

• Write down three words for how you want to feel today. Not “productive.” Try “safe,” “calm,” “clear.”

Day 2: Nourish Without Rules

• Eat a breakfast with protein, fiber, and fat. Try eggs and avocado. Or oats with chia and berries.

• No food restrictions today. Just intention. Eat slowly. Chew. Listen.

• Drink water. Add magnesium or electrolytes if you need a boost.

Day 3: Gentle Movement

• Stretch in bed for 5 minutes before standing up.

• Go for a short walk (even 10 minutes counts).

• Try yin yoga or a fibro-friendly movement video.

• End the day with a warm bath or heat pack.

Day 4: Protect Your Energy

• Say no to something you normally force yourself to do.

• Cancel a call. Delegate a chore. Postpone that meeting.

• Take a nap or lie down in silence with no guilt.

• Track your energy levels. When did you feel most tired? Most clear?

Day 5: Reset Your Nervous System

• Try a grounding practice: hold ice cubes, walk barefoot outside, or do a body scan.

• Listen to calming music or ambient sounds.

• Try 4-7-8 breathing: inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8.

• Notice if your pain changes when you feel safe. That’s not a coincidence.

Day 6: Detox Your Space

• Clear one area of visual clutter. Just one. A nightstand. A drawer.

• Light a candle. Open a window.

• Remove any item that drains you (clothes you don’t wear, old paperwork, expired meds).

• Make a playlist that makes you feel alive.

Day 7: Reconnect With Joy

• Do something fun with no goal attached. Paint. Bake. Journal. Dance.

• Text someone who makes you laugh.

• Watch a movie that doesn’t require thinking or explaining.

• Ask yourself: What do I want more of in my life? And how can I give myself a little piece of that today?

There Is No Shame in Starting Over

Healing from fibromyalgia isn’t linear. It’s not a checklist or a timeline. It’s a commitment to learning your body all over again—and treating it like the sacred thing it is.

If you’ve been living in pain, just surviving each day, I want you to know something:

you haven’t failed.

You’ve adapted. You’ve endured. You’ve shown up for yourself even when the world didn't.

And that is a strength most people will never understand.

You don’t have to wait for a perfect moment to start feeling better. You can begin now. Slowly. Quietly. Gently.

Right here.

Right now.

One breath at a time.

I’ll be here, walking with you.

– Shalena