NLP: Help for Fibromyalgia ( a personal story )
Author: Lise-Anne LaBelle, Reg. Nurse and certified NLP & Quantum TLC? Practitioner

In the early part of 1996 I began to experience severe chest pains; stopping of breath, painful pressure in the center of my chest. Being only 31 years old at the time, I was petrified that this might be a cardiac problem. These chest pains lead me to my family physician's office and emergency department numerous times. After ruling out many, many other possible medical causes, I was given the confirmed diagnosis of FMS.

Being a registered nurse working in a health care facility, I availed myself of every information resource available. I was satisfied I had the information and opportunity to manage my symptoms and overall health and, was tremendously grateful that this was not a cardiac problem.

I put FMS on the shelf and continued with my life; my very stressful and demanding life ....

Like most working mothers, I spent every possible moment of every day on the move, being efficient, effective and productive. I could not stop, I could not rest, and I especially could not pay attention to the signals my body was giving me.

Within two and a half years after my diagnosis, I was experiencing fully the most predominant symptoms of FMS along with others:

* I was experiencing severe and continuous muscle pain everywhere from my jaw to my toes.
* My sleep pattern was completely disrupted. I had difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, awaking every 20 to 30 minutes if I slept at all.
* I was falling into a serious depression, feeling helpless and hopeless and at the mercy of my dysfunctional body.
* I also experienced irritable bowel and bladder, blurred vision, poor memory and concentration, dizziness and clumsiness.

These experiences continuously cycled through, spiraling downward, growing bigger and diving deeper each time.

I could no longer ignore the pain. I could no longer mask the effects of sleeplessness and depression on my mood. I could no longer function in any capacity I needed or wanted to. I could no longer work and I could barely even walk!

With much prompting from my family, friends and health care provider, I went on a sick leave from work. That was the final blow to my self-esteem.

As I saw it at the time, admitting defeat (and I saw my body as the enemy) meant admitting I had to give up all that gave me value or worth. So, refusing to be defeated, I decided to conquer this foe. I sought out every suggested medical, pharmaceutical, herbal, holistic/alternative/complimentary therapy available and tried all that I could. I turned my recovery into an expensive, time consuming, exhaustive and discouraging full-time job. And, my condition worsened ....

There is a happier note to my story and it is NLP and Quantum TLC?

Fortunately, prior to my leave from work, I had initiated contact with Partners in Renewal Inc. (www.partnersinrenewal.com) in Ottawa, Ontario, regarding their 7-day NLP Practitioner Certification Training. I had become interested in NLP after being introduced to it at a workshop earlier that year. I felt it would be a useful skill in my profession.

Because of this prior contact, I received notification of an upcoming training event. I had already resigned myself that I could not physically manage to attend the event despite my interest. The urge to correspond however, continued to nag at me until finally I did contact them.

Through much correspondence and even discussion with my family physician I began to consider the possibility of attending. The point of decision was when I spoke with another woman, who, with severe fibromyalgia herself, had attended the training event just months earlier. She spoke of the event as the most effective therapy she'd received for her condition of all. I was intrigued by her enthusiasm and knew I was in need of some of that for myself. Now, it did not matter if I became 'skilled', I just wanted to be well.

So, I went to Ottawa, and I found the means to a transformation!

The first day, I doubted if I would be able to make it through. By the 3rd day, I could feel energy moving through me for the first time in months and months. By the end of the week, I knew I had gained valuable tools and even more valuable insights; at a cost. I had to give up the luxury of ignoring the signals from my body, and had to start to pay attention. (And, believe me, I was in serious "attention debt").

The first invaluable tool I was given was the understanding of being at cause in my life. I was not a helpless victim! I began to understand that my unconscious mind used these body symptoms to gain my attention. My body was signaling me to take care of myself better and reduce my stress. As I ignored the signals, the severity of the symptoms increased until finally I could no longer function and I had to notice. Now, it has my attention, and being at cause means I have choice about how I want to live.

Another technique that proved to be enlightening was "Parts Integration": I came to understand that there was a part of me that held outrageously impossible expectations of myself; buying into all the culturally conditioned notions of all the 'shoulds' and 'ought tos' and 'musts'.

Parts Integration helped me to identify this as well as my Highest Intention for having such a 'part' of me. Namely, my highest intention was to strive for excellence in all I do. To reach for, and fulfill, my potential in the roles that bring meaning to my life, according to my standards.

I can't express the revelation and relief this discovery affords!

Next, resource anchoring (anchoring a state of personal resourcefulness) served to help me to remember when I had felt resourceful and, to pay attention and to notice those moments when I was now feeling good; reinforcing my access to a resourceful state whenever I need it.

Quantum TLC?is a method of clearing past negative emotions such as anger, sadness, fear and guilt, and clearing any limiting decisions/beliefs we carry from our past, as well. This not only provided me with new perspectives about old hauntings, it also loosened up other long-standing blocks for further clearing and understanding. Through this I was given a direction and path toward healing and, granted freedom from the limits that had held me down.

Likewise, these same techniques taught me to future pace my goals, focusing my attention on the positive outcomes in my life. Hope was restored! This also became the basis upon which I was able to behave positively in the moment; living as if in the fulfillment of my future NOW.

The list of tools goes on, and includes equally beneficial experiences such as the support and encouragement I received from my coaches and peers and learning to use breathing and grounding techniques as a means to pay attention with intention.

It's true that I have had many tools at my disposal before; medication, herbals, acupuncture, exercise, massage, Reiki, meditation and so on. I found some relief, for some time, from some of these or some combination of them.

What I had always been missing was a way to determine what symptoms would be helped best by which tool, and could I ever reasonably come to predict triggers to flare ups. It was a frustrating and never-ending guessing game.

I needed an instruction manual for my body's' signals -- a way to notice and troubleshoot, to prevent adding to my "Attention Debt load" before getting into the "red".

The CODE Model?, as developed by Partners in Renewal Inc. was exactly the guide I needed. The CODE Model?parallels the seven energy centers of the body, or Chakras, to seven Logical Levels of Thinking.

By noticing my symptoms and matching them up to the corresponding energy centers (Chakras) on the CODE Model, some startling insights became available to me. When I traced a line from my symptom to corresponding Chakra, then to the paralleled Logical Level; it most often pointed directly toward a situation, occurrence or issue I had been dealing with. Amazing!

Simply put, my body was outwardly expressing, physically, exactly what was going on inside of me on a thinking/feeling/spirit level. My body spoke through physical symptoms what I would not or could not speak in words.

I WAS AT CAUSE! There was no longer any doubt.

My attention debt has greatly decreased in the time since I was fortunate enough to find answers for myself in the Partners In Renewal Inc. NLP and Quantum TLC?training. Most importantly, I am mindful that it is not a debt I will ever incur again unwittingly.

Today, I have so much more power in my life and how I live it. I have Choice and I have Voice!

I still have FMS, however it is not in charge -- I am. But now, I see FMS as the magnificently brilliant method my unconscious mind uses to alert me to pay attention!

It is my hope that sharing my story may serve as both information and encouragement. I'd be happy to receive comments or questions, and can be reached via e-mail at labelle1@home.com








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Lise-Anne LaBelle, Reg. Nurse and certified NLP & Quantum TLC? Practitioner labelle1@home.com

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