Holiday Tips For Fibromyalgia: Less Pain and More Joy
Release Date: 10/07/2025
PCOS + Fibromyalgia: When Your Symptoms Don’t Fit One Box with Lindsie Vizethann
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
When symptoms don’t fit neatly into one box, it’s hard to know where to turn. Many women with fibromyalgia are also dealing with things like painful or irregular periods, stubborn weight changes, fatigue, mood shifts, or feeling like something is off even when tests come back “normal.” When every symptom gets treated as a separate issue, it’s easy to end up with pieces of advice that never quite come together. So often, the problem isn’t that you aren’t trying hard enough. It’s that no one has helped you step back and look at the bigger picture. Bodies are connected systems,...
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Fibro Hierarchy of Needs: The Smarter Path To Better Results
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
“You’re not failing because you’re not trying hard enough. You’re probably just doing the right things at the wrong time.” - Tami Stackelhouse Have you ever felt the frustration of doing everything you’re supposed to be doing, but nothing seems to be working? You’re following the advice and showing up for yourself as best you can, but instead of things getting easier, it feels like you’re stuck or even sliding backward. That’s a really hard place to be. Over the years, what Tami has seen time and time again is that managing your symptoms is not about doing more or trying...
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Chronic Insomnia: When Your Brain Won’t Let You Sleep with Dr. Leon Lack
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
“Anxiety from insomnia triggers our fight or flight reaction and that’s not conducive to falling asleep.” - Dr. Leon Lack There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes with fibromyalgia, the kind where your body feels completely drained, but your brain just won’t turn off. You lie there, waiting for sleep to come, watching the clock, knowing how much you need rest and feeling your body become more tense the longer it doesn’t happen. Over time, bedtime itself can start to feel stressful, like something you’re doing wrong instead of something your body naturally does. What...
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Spotlight on Hope for Pediatric Pain Warriors (Podcasthon 2026)
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
“It kind of felt like it was just her and I against the world.” - Ann Garner When a child develops fibromyalgia or another chronic pain condition, it can feel incredibly isolating for the whole family. Parents are trying to understand the condition themselves while also advocating for their child with doctors, teachers, and even extended family members who may not fully believe what’s happening. As a parent without a community, it feels like you’re navigating everything on your own. For kids living with fibromyalgia, that isolation can be even harder. Their pain is invisible, and...
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How Do I Know If My Fibromyalgia Is Improving? Ask the Coach
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
“We don't go from severely symptomatic to fibro-free overnight, right? Improvement with fibromyalgia can be subtle, and it does take time.” - Tami Stackelhouse Going through life with fibromyalgia, many of us quietly hope that one day we’ll wake up without pain, fatigue, or brain fog. Unfortunately, in reality, improvement is small and can be hard to see while it’s happening. Sometimes you might feel better for a week or two and then you have a flare and you feel like you're back at square one. It can feel like nothing is changing, even if things actually are. Improvement with...
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How to Ask for and Receive Help More Gracefully
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
“Asking for and receiving help is not about being less capable. It’s about using your limited energy for what matters most.” - Tami Stackelhouse If you’ve been living with fibromyalgia for some time, you can probably identify with remembering how different thing were before when you were the capable and dependable one who everyone relied on. Shifting from being the helper to being the one who needs help can feel uncomfortable at best and heartbreaking at worst. That’s why for so many of us, asking for help brings up feelings of guilt, fear of being a burden, and a quiet voice...
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Replay: Special #4: How Do You Become a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®?
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
Welcome to the final episode of our special Be a Coach series. So far, I’ve answered questions about our Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor® class and what it takes to become a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®. Some of the topics covered in the first three parts of this special series were what a Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor® and a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® is, the difference between the two, who makes a good Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® and who is better suited to be a Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor®, what you need and don’t need to become a Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor® or...
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Fibromyalgia Stories of Hope & Healing #12
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
There aren't enough stories out there of people with fibromyalgia who actually got better. Too often, we’re told that we’ll need to learn to live with the symptoms we’re experiencing and that that’s going to be our new normal. But while fibromyalgia can be debilitating and will change your life, it’s not true that nothing can be done, and the stories we’re sharing today are proof of that. Hope doesn’t come from pushing harder or pretending symptoms aren’t real. It comes from learning how to listen to your body, making small shifts that add up over time, and recognizing that...
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Replay: Special #3: Why Should You Consider Being a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®?
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
Welcome to episode 03 of our special Be a Coach Series. In this series, I answer questions about our Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor® class and what it takes to be a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®. In episode one of the series, I explained what a Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor® is and what a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® is. Episode two of the series was all about who makes a good coach and who is better suited to be an advisor. I also covered what you need and don’t need to become a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®. In this episode, we’re taking a deeper look at why someone would want to...
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What A Fibro-Friendly Fresh Start Really Looks Like
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
“A fibro-friendly, fresh start isn’t about staying on track forever. It’s about gently correcting your trajectory when things drift off.” - Tami Stackelhouse Fresh starts are supposed to feel hopeful, but with fibromyalgia, they can feel heavy instead. The start of a new year brings many of us pressure to get it together, do better, and somehow reset everything at once, even when we’re already exhausted. Then, when our bodies don’t cooperate the way the plan expected them to, we start wondering what’s wrong with us. The truth is, most fresh start advice isn’t made for fibro...
info_outline“You don’t have to do it all this holiday season. Do the things that matter most to you.” - Tami Stackelhouse
The holidays can be a difficult time of year for people living with fibromyalgia. Between shopping, cooking, decorating, family gatherings, and endless to-do lists, it’s easy to push yourself too far and end up in a massive fibro flare. You want to show up for the people you love, but your body will remind you that there’s only so much you can give.
Luckily, a memorable holiday season doesn’t just come from doing everything you’ve always done. Instead, it should be about doing what matters most. By learning to prioritize, pace yourself, and let go of the “shoulds,” you can create a season that’s joyful and supportive of your health instead of draining it. As we head towards the holidays, take your time, slow down, choose what feels right for you, and give yourself permission to rest without guilt.
In this episode, Tami talks about why it’s time to start thinking about navigating the holiday season, balancing energy and prioritizing what matters, planning buffer/recovery days before and after events, fibro-friendly food strategies, tips for eating safely, setting boundaries, mindset shifts for a less stressful holiday, time-savers to reduce stress this holiday season, why you should think ahead about dressing for comfort and creating a sensory-friendly environment for yourself, the impact of focusing on meaningful decorations and simplifying your holiday decor, the importance of accepting help, prioritizing joy over holiday “shoulds,” letting go of old traditions and creating new ones, and more. You’ll also get a sneak peek into the upcoming Living Well with Fibromyalgia Summit: Holiday Edition, featuring talks from Certified Fibromyalgia Coaches® on areas like balancing commitments, setting boundaries, and creating joyful new traditions.
Note: This episode is not meant to be medical advice. Every person and every situation is unique. The information you learn in this episode should be shared and discussed with your own healthcare providers.
Join us for the Living Well with Fibromyalgia Summit: Holiday Edition. This is a completely free, 10-day virtual event happening October 13th through 24th, designed to help you navigate the holidays with less pain and more joy.
To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
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Ready to take back control of your life and health? Schedule a complimentary consultation with a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®.