Whatever the prevailing decisions regarding definitions of fibromyalgia, the following are “flags” for the experience of fibromyalgia:

Flags of Verbalised Expressions:

• “I feel like a complete hypochondriac”

• “I feel I am falling apart”

• “My bounce/spark/creativity is gone”

• “I don’t recognise myself any more”

• “Everything is such an effort”

• “If I do anything – I pay for it”

• “I feel as if somebody pulled the plug”

• “I won’t go as I don’t know how I’ll be”

• “I feel I’m ‘losing it’ with all these crazy symptoms/pain”

• I’ve never been right since ………..(“accident/bereavement”)

Physical Flags for Fibromyalgia

• Pain;   Flitting and moving about/unresponsive to intervention and painkillers.

• Tenderness: Prolonged or excessive responses to, often mild pressure.

• Restless Legs:  Needing to move the legs or vague irritation in legs.

• Erratic Power to Body zones:  Lack of endurance

• Heaviness:  ‘Head’ heavy, leaden feelings in limbs

• Energy instability:  Having to ‘power oneself’ or ‘charge up’ oneself with rest before an event.

• Unsteady Temperature:  autonomic dysregulation of thermostat in brain.

Emotional Flags for Fibromyalgia

• Loss of robustness or coping capacity.

• Erratic or illogical emotional responses

• Emotions of anxiety/distress ‘hot wiring’ to focal zones of the body like nausea/palpitations/loose stools

• Flatness of mood: No sense of enjoyment of anything.

Intellectual Flags

• Loss of interest/ability to read for leisure or work

• Reduced flow of efficiency in work environment

• Concentration and memory deterioration

• “Clunkiness” in executing complex tasks initially, then more simple tasks.

• Disappearance of extra creative edge

• Comparative slowness in processing new tasks/skills/info.