Tapping for Fibromyalgia: Finding Relief When Pain and Exhaustion Become Overwhelming

I recently received this heartfelt message from Susan that I wanted to share with you:

“Hello Nick, I am new to your work. I really need some help with my fibromyalgia. I work full time and am having a terrible time with pain and exhaustion. If you have any advice I would be happy to hear it. I am feeling a lot of physical pain and exhaustion and it is becoming overwhelming. Thank you.”

Susan, first let me say how much I admire your courage in reaching out while dealing with something as challenging as fibromyalgia. Working full-time while managing chronic pain and exhaustion requires incredible strength—strength you clearly possess, even on the days when you feel you don’t.

I hear the struggle in your words. That overwhelming combination of physical pain and bone-deep exhaustion can make even the simplest tasks feel like climbing a mountain. And I want you to know that you’re not alone in this experience.

Understanding Fibromyalgia Through a New Lens

Fibromyalgia is often misunderstood, even by some healthcare providers. While traditional medical approaches tend to focus primarily on pain management through medication, emerging research is revealing something fascinating: fibromyalgia appears to be fundamentally connected to how your nervous system processes signals.

Many researchers now view fibromyalgia as a condition of central sensitization—essentially, your nervous system has become stuck in a heightened state of alertness. It’s like your body’s alarm system has been turned up to maximum sensitivity and can’t find the “off” switch. Normal sensations that shouldn’t hurt suddenly do, and your energy reserves become chronically depleted as your system remains on high alert.

This is where Tapping enters the picture in a uniquely powerful way.

Why Tapping Can Help When Other Approaches Fall Short

Unlike approaches that only address symptoms, Tapping works directly with your nervous system—which research increasingly suggests is at the heart of fibromyalgia. When you tap on specific acupressure points while focusing on your pain and emotional experience, you’re sending calming signals directly to your brain’s alarm center (the amygdala).

This isn’t just theoretical. Studies have shown that Tapping can:

• Reduce the stress hormone cortisol by up to 43%
• Decrease pain intensity and frequency
• Improve sleep quality by calming the heightened alertness that interferes with rest
• Address the emotional components that often amplify physical pain

What makes Tapping particularly valuable for fibromyalgia is that it works with both the physical sensations and the emotional burden of chronic pain—something many conventional treatments miss entirely.

The Pain-Emotion Connection That Nobody Talks About

There’s something about chronic pain that often goes unaddressed in doctor’s offices: the profound emotional toll it takes, and how those emotions then loop back to intensify the physical pain.

When you’re in constant pain, it’s natural to experience emotions like:

• Frustration at your body for not functioning as it should
• Grief for the activities and experiences you’ve had to give up
• Anxiety about whether the pain will ever improve
• Guilt about how your condition affects others in your life
• Fear about your ability to continue working and supporting yourself

These emotions aren’t just “reactions” to pain—they become part of the pain circuit in your brain, amplifying the signals and making everything hurt more. It’s a vicious cycle that medication alone can’t break.

Tapping allows you to process these emotions directly, effectively turning down the volume on both the emotional and physical aspects of pain simultaneously.

The Fibromyalgia Stress Loop: Breaking the Cycle

Let me share something I’ve observed in working with many fibromyalgia clients over the years. There’s a particular cycle that tends to develop:

1. Physical pain and fatigue limit what you can do
2. This creates stress about managing work and life responsibilities
3. Stress amplifies pain signals in the body
4. Pain worsens, leading to more limitations
5. Limitations create more stress
6. And the cycle continues…

This is the “Fibromyalgia Stress Loop,” and understanding it is crucial because it helps identify multiple entry points for relief. While we can’t always control the initial pain signals, we can interrupt this cycle at several points—particularly through the stress response, which Tapping is exceptionally effective at regulating.

Let’s start with a basic Tapping sequence specifically designed to interrupt this cycle when you’re feeling overwhelmed by pain and exhaustion.

A Tapping Sequence for Fibromyalgia Pain and Exhaustion

Before beginning, take a moment to notice the intensity of your pain right now on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the worst pain imaginable. Also note your level of exhaustion on the same scale. We’ll check in with these numbers after tapping to track your progress.

Take a deep breath and check in with your pain and exhaustion levels again. Has there been any shift? Even a small change is significant and shows your nervous system is responding.

Targeting Specific Aspects of Fibromyalgia

While the general sequence above can help interrupt the pain-stress cycle, fibromyalgia has many facets that benefit from more targeted tapping. Let’s explore some of these specifically:

For Sleep Disruption:

Many fibromyalgia sufferers experience non-restorative sleep—you may sleep for hours but wake feeling as if you haven’t rested at all. This happens because pain signals disrupt the deep sleep cycles your body needs for repair.

Try this Tapping sequence before bed:

For Brain Fog and Cognitive Difficulties:

The “fibro fog” that makes thinking clear and focusing difficult is one of the most frustrating aspects of fibromyalgia for many people.

For the Emotional Burden of Invisible Illness:

One of the most painful aspects of fibromyalgia is how invisible it is to others, leading to misunderstanding and sometimes even disbelief from those around you.

Beyond Tapping: Creating Your Fibromyalgia Relief Toolkit

While Tapping is a powerful tool for fibromyalgia, I want to share some complementary approaches that many people have found helpful alongside their Tapping practice:

1. Pace, Don’t Push

Many fibromyalgia sufferers fall into a “push-crash” cycle—pushing through pain on good days, then crashing for days afterward. Instead, try “pacing” by:

• Breaking tasks into smaller chunks with rest periods in between
• Using a timer to limit how long you work before taking a break
• Planning high-energy activities for your best time of day
• Saying no to optional activities that deplete your energy reserves

2. The Two-Minute Pain Check-In

When pain flares, we often tense against it, which actually amplifies the sensation. Try this quick practice:

• Set a timer for two minutes
• Close your eyes and breathe deeply
• Instead of fighting the pain, get curious about it
• Notice its location, intensity, texture, temperature
• Tap while maintaining this curious, non-resistant awareness

This practice doesn’t eliminate pain, but it often reduces its intensity by changing your relationship to it.

3. Create Micro-Moments of Relief

With fibromyalgia, waiting for big blocks of self-care time can mean it never happens. Instead, create tiny “relief rituals” throughout your day:

• 60 seconds of gentle shoulder rolls and neck stretches
• A 2-minute Tapping break in the restroom at work
• Three conscious deep breaths before answering the phone
• A 30-second hand massage with your favorite lotion

These small moments add up, giving your nervous system regular opportunities to reset throughout the day. Plus, they just feel good — and feeling good is something important, and something that you truly deserve.

A Personal Note on the Journey

Susan, I want to share something important with you. While Tapping can create immediate relief for many people with fibromyalgia, healing from this condition is typically more of a journey than a single event.

Think of it as gradually turning down the volume on an overly sensitive alarm system, rather than flipping a switch. Some days will be better than others. Some techniques will work better for you than others. The key is consistency and self-compassion along the way.

I’ve worked with many fibromyalgia clients who started with just five minutes of daily Tapping and gradually expanded their practice as they felt the benefits. Many report that while they still experience some symptoms, the intensity decreases significantly over time, and their ability to function and enjoy life improves dramatically.

And then there are the breakthrough stories of profound transformation in a short period of time. Take Jodi (one of the participants whose story is documented in The Tapping Solution Documentary film). When she first joined us for a 4-day Tapping retreat, her fibromyalgia pain was waking her up 15-20 times per night. It was getting in the way of her enjoying her daily life — and she could barely make it up a flight of stairs. Doctors told her her condition was incurable. On day 2 of the 4-day Tapping event, her pain went away. She was walking outside, enjoying herself. And she is still pain free years later.

I share these stories because I want to remind you of what is possible. I want to remind you to hold yourself with compassion, love, encouragement, and hope as you walk this journey.

Your healing journey is uniquely yours, and it deserves to be approached with the same kindness you would offer a dear friend going through a difficult time.

Moving Forward

Susan, I want to acknowledge again the incredible strength it takes to navigate work and life while dealing with fibromyalgia. The fact that you’re reaching out and exploring new approaches shows remarkable resilience and hope—qualities that will serve you well on this healing journey.

Remember that your worth isn’t tied to your productivity or how much you can do on any given day. You deserve care and compassion simply because you exist.

I’d love to hear how Tapping works for you, and I’m here to support you along the way.

Looking for more support with chronic pain?

To support you further on this journey, here are some helpful resources:

• The Tapping Solution App: Features specific meditations for pain relief, sleep, and energy. Here are a few meditations in the app I recommend:
  • Release General Pain
  • Releasing Overwhelm and Frustration about Chronic Pain
  • We also have a whole category for Pain Relief, which covers specific types of pain in the body (including fibromyalgia pain)
  • 5 Day Pain Relief Challenge
  • 90 Day Pain Reprocessing Protocol
  • Pain Relief Healing Frequencies (this is a custom music track designed to help with pain. You can listen to it throughout the day, while you do your own tapping, while you fall asleep, or while you meditate)
  • Micro Boost of Muscle Tension Relief

Note: You can access these meditations by clicking the links above using your mobile device, or type the name of the meditation into The Tapping Solution App’s search function.

• Find a Certified EFT Practitioner: For personalized guidance on your specific pain patterns.
• The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief: My book dedicated entirely to using Tapping for chronic pain conditions. This book is also available in audiobook format in The Tapping Solution App.

Have you tried Tapping for chronic pain or fatigue? What has your experience been like? Share in the comments below to help others on similar journeys.

Until next time… Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner