Aches and pains, physical weakness, poor sleep and fatigue, foggy mind, stress and anxiety … In her new book The Fibro Manual, Dr. Liptan shows how all these symptoms are linked together as part of our body’s response to stress. She explains how the fascia is the missing link in this condition … and how MFR can be a way out of the pain.
It begins with our brain’s normal mechanism for dealing with stress, called the fight-flight-freeze response. In the face of any perceived danger … whether it’s a saber-toothed tiger, an auto accident, or conflict with a co-worker, our brains rev us up to fight or run away … or if neither option is possible, freeze until the danger passes. In this state of vigilance, deep, restful sleep is impossible. We tighten up, braced for whatever action the danger may require us to make. And when we tighten up, our fascia tightens up, ready to spring into action .
If all goes well, we discharge this excess energy as we navigate the danger, and our system relaxes and returns to normal after the danger passes. But sometimes, for reasons beyond our conscious control, our bodies stay stuck in the danger-response and we may not even realize it. After all, these days, stress has become the norm! So the spring stays chronically coiled. Our bodies and brains can’t quite relax. We can’t really rest, and our bodies are robbed of the essential time they need to repair and rejuvenate. Our fascia is not given the time to heal, and poor sleep contributes to foggy-thinking and lack of energy.