by Angela Irving-Brown
When I first heard about Mickel Therapy I was cynical to say the least. I had tried so many supposed treatments, none of which had done more than offer brief periods of respite, at best. I was at the stage of trying to accept the way life had turned out for me and move on. I was getting used to not being able to do things with my son. It was his reality about his mum too. I was trying to get my head round having to work only occasionally and then suffer for days afterwards. I was having to appreciate that, although my relationship had changed beyond all belief, I was still loved, no matter how dependent I was. The falling out when things got too much for either of us was just a part of life.
Luckily, I have a very tenacious partner, called Amanda. She was not willing to give up on the possibility of a solution or a cure. Research was what she did. God bless Google!! (Other search engines are obviously available)
It was her uncompromising determination that there must be more that could be done to help with Fibromyalgia that led her to Mickel Therapy. I had long since subscribed to the UK Fibromyalgia magazine, although the thought of opening it to see more depressing stories about other people’s suffering meant that it went straight to Amanda’s desk. In one of these magazines she saw a small advert for Mickel Therapy. She had already got as far as seeing Fibromyalgia as a problem with the HPA axis so this new type of therapy seemed to make sense. I was having none of it. I was fed up with throwing money after money to just get worse. She bought the book and read it. Then gave it to me to read, like any of that was going to go in with the joys of brain fog!
After much nagging, which she is very good at, and emotional blackmail (again a well-honed skill of hers) I agreed to contact this Mickel Therapist in Warrington. What harm could an hour out of my life do to keep my lovely partner happy? At least I could say I tried. So off I went.
I don’t recall much of the first session but I do know I walked in on two walking sticks feeling lots of pain and brain fog, as well as drug induced confusion from all the medication I was taking. I do know that after that session I reduced my walking support to one crutch. Session two, again a blur, was a week later. After that one I stopped using crutches at all. Did my therapist notice during the next session that I had two free hands? Did she heck! She was totally oblivious.
Over the next few months I found I had energy, I was awake most of the day, I was even doing this strange thing called sleeping when I was in bed. I hadn’t managed that for years. I could start to think about things without getting confused and began to increase my work load. I could go out and walk the dogs. I could even drive a decent distance without excessive pain or tiredness. I was beginning to get back to me.
By completing Mickel Therapy I have regained my life. I am now a happy mum who is able to run around with my son, although at 14 he is a tad fitter than me. I can pan to do things every day of the week without having to have days off, although I DO NOT go to work every day as that would have a major setback in my health. I have even managed to get through major building works on my home without completely relapsing, although it was very trying and required good use of the Mickel Therapy tools I had learnt.
I now know how to read my body and also how to listen to my body. I still have to take pain killers but that is not for Fibro pain, it is for the pain caused by my car accident which started this whole process. I can’t look upon it as a negative as I have gone on to become a Mickel Therapist and hope that I can help someone else find the relief that I have found from Mickel Therapy. As the research base grows and the understanding of the human body continues I believe that the skills we teach in Mickel Therapy will become the norm and, over time, conditions like Fibromyalgia will be all but eradicated. We all need to work hard to get the message out there that our bodies are clever enough to tell us how to be well, we just need to learn to listen to them and take heed of them.
For further information contact Angela at angela.irving-brown(@)mickeltherapy.com or check out www.mickeltherapy.com
