The #1 Fibromyalgia Mistake That Makes Pain Worse

If you have fibromyalgia, you're probably making a mistake every single day that keeps you trapped in a vicious cycle of pain and exhaustion. It's not your fault—most doctors never explain this pattern, and it seems counterintuitive. But understanding this mistake could change everything about how you manage your condition.

The mistake? Overexertion. Not the obvious kind where you run a marathon or move furniture. The subtle, everyday kind that happens when you feel a bit better and try to catch up on everything you couldn't do during bad days.

The Boom-Bust Cycle Explained

Here's how it works: You wake up feeling slightly better than usual. Finally, some energy! So you tackle that pile of laundry, clean the kitchen, run errands, and maybe even meet a friend for coffee. You're relieved to feel somewhat normal again.

Then the crash comes. The next day—or sometimes that same evening—you're completely wiped out. The pain intensifies. The fatigue is overwhelming. You can barely function. So you rest, doing almost nothing until you start feeling slightly better. And then the cycle repeats.

This pattern is called the boom-bust cycle, and it's one of the biggest obstacles to managing fibromyalgia effectively. You swing between pushing yourself too hard and collapsing from the effort, never finding a sustainable middle ground.