by Trisha Jamieson – Published November 10, 2023

My name is Trisha Jamieson I’m 33 years old and this is my pain story. On October 5th, 2022 my doctor sent me to see a rheumatologist to get my fibromyalgia diagnosis. After this I got to work doing my own research. On the up side my life was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Just after Covid started I got a job at a cannabis store. Shortly after starting I shocked my back and couldn’t move my shoulders for 2 months. This amount of pain gave me a significant amount of brain fog and I ended up losing my job. This made me realize that something wasn’t right.

After that I found another job, shortly after I found out I had sciatica. The job didn’t last long. Time off gave me more time to focus on my mental health. I did all the things that helped like reading more books, studying Buddhism, meditating and spending time with my dogs.

Getting diagnosed answered a lot of questions as a person who often experiences unexplained bouts of pain – it was validating. Knowing gave me something to focus on researching. I got to work scrolling through the internet, reading books and listening to podcasts.

The journey ahead was going to be rough so I started searching for help. Having a history with depression and anxiety I searched for a therapist and found a free therapist through my doctor. I still see her once a month now and attend Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) classes every week which have been very helpful.

Then I came across The Fibromyalgia Podcast hosted by Tami Stacklehouse. I discovered that she has a team of fibro coaches and it was easy enough to sign up so I did. A few weeks later I had my first appointment with Gisele McDiarmid an absolute gem of a woman. She motivated me to never give up hope and continues to help me today. Talking to her always makes me feel better.

Living with fibromyalgia is hard but as Glennon Doyle says “We can do hard things.” If life is easy what do you learn? Not much. When life is hard you learn more. In a weird way I prefer this path because I want to grow. I highly recommend affirmation cards or gratitude practice as these things have helped me stay positive.

Have I had moments of wanting to give up? Yes but that feeling always fades. I know there are people out there in remission and this gives me the motivation to keep going. Isolating for 2 years made me realize the importance of community so I started a fibromyalgia support group and joined the education committee with the Fibromyalgia Association Canada (FAC).

Humans and women are incredibly resilient, millions of people around the world deal with pain every single day. We are not alone and we can help each other. Stay strong warriors! If I can live and find joy in the dark so can you.