To sleep, perchance to scream

Yep. It's official. People with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are perceived as whiny bitches. To make matters worse, even though the medical community (at least a majority) now acknowledge that these conditions are real, the stereotypes are still there and many sufferers are adding guilt and isolation to their long list of symptoms. I was surprised as hell to learn that roughly 60 percent of fibro and CFS sufferers also endure some form of depression and/or anxiety. The correlation between mental/emotional health and physical health is something the average person tends to miss. Sure, we know that if we lose our job, our wife runs off with .. well, someone's wife, the world is gonna close in on you in a hurry. Losing or gaining weight and feeling depressed are certainly a good bet. However, when you see the commercial on TV about the "The Pain of Depression" whoever they are, they're bloody serious. Mental and emotional trauma will bitch-slap you so hard that your unborn children will feel it. It's no surprise that so many people in their 30s and 40s crack up because of unresolved abuse they endured in their youth. Hell, it's likely they're still repeating the cycle of whatever abuse that forged them in the first place. So, if you are dealing with either of these conditions, chances are, a friend, relative or an uninformed (dumb-ass) medical professional has cast a weary eye your way. In my case it was a chiropractor. I was surprised when he went off and said "That's not even a real condition, is it?" Well, some would say you're not a real doctor, but I keep coming back here so you can smack me around like your own personal bitch. OK, I didn't say that, but I played it over a few times in my head after I left his office and each time I looked like a hero.
Don't listen to this doubting crap. It's real.
Of course, this doesn't give us permission to sit around and cry about it. We have to get up off our collective asses and be proactive about feeling better. I know for some sufferers it's nearly impossible. But there are some of us who are too comfortable with the condition defining them, and not getting up and moving around. To those people I say, don't do it. Do anything you can to grow a pair (testicles or ovaries, name your poison) and give fibro and CFS the flying cock-punch they deserve.