Fibromyalgia and normalising behaviours

A new study has reported that Fibromyalgia Syndrome patients may not seek help to manage their symptoms because the symptoms seem normal to them. [1]

Fibromyalgia Syndrome often takes a long time to diagnose, with some patients even reporting that they had symptoms for decades before diagnosis. The attitudes and actions of the healthcare professionals seen by the patient are obviously involved in this delay, but so too can be patient attitudes and actions. A problem with invisible illnesses, such as Fibromyalgia Syndrome, which have no outward sign of illness, is that even the patient can doubt whether the symptoms are really there. The symptoms of Fibromyalgia Syndrome have been shown in research to have a number of physiological causes, but with nothing visible, some patients end up wondering if everyone feels the same as them. Many patients try to lead a normal life for some time after the onset of Fibromyalgia Syndrome, maintaining careers, relationships and lifestyles as far as possible for as long as they physically can, despite the immense struggle this can be. This struggle to remain “normal” can continue after diagnosis.

The study, carried out by a Turkish doctor, investigated whether Fibromyalgia Syndrome sufferers who didn’t seek medical help had a different level of normalising attributes than patients who sought medical help. Thirty-seven Fibromyalgia Syndrome patients who were seeing consultants about their condition were compared with 38 Fibromyalgia Syndrome sufferers who weren’t seeing a doctor, as well as 34 healthy controls. They were assessed for anxiety, depression, alexithymia (a relatively new term meaning the inability to express feelings in words) and normalising attributes.

The Fibromyalgia Syndrome sufferers who weren’t seeing a doctor were found to have the highest normalizing scores, with the Fibromyalgia Syndrome patients who were seeing a doctor having even lower normalizing scores than the healthy controls.

The article concluded that “normalization may negatively influence help-seeking behavior and contribute to non-help-seeking behavior.”

Reference:

1. Gulec H. Normalizing Attributions May Contribute to Non-Help-Seeking Behavior in People With Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Psychosomatics. 2008 May;49(3):212-217.