Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain: Beyond the Pain with Tami Stackelhouse | 132

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Can you turn pain into power and confusion into clarity?

In this deeply personal and eye-opening episode of Manders Mindset, I sit down with fibromyalgia coach, author, and podcast host Tami Stackelhouse. As someone who’s lived with fibromyalgia for decades—and transformed her experience into hope for others—Tami shares her remarkable journey from misunderstood symptoms to creating the International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute. This episode is especially meaningful to me because my own mother lives with fibromyalgia, and Tami's work has opened doors of understanding I didn’t even know existed.

We dive into the reality of living with a chronic illness that most doctors aren’t even trained to recognize, the emotional toll of being dismissed, and how Tami rewrote her life by becoming the coach she wished she'd had. We also discuss the myths around fibromyalgia, brain fog, nervous system dysregulation, and what true healing looks like—not from denial, but from radical self-awareness. Whether you or someone you love lives with fibromyalgia, this is a conversation filled with compassion, clarity, and actual hope.

🎙️ In this episode, listeners will learn:

🧠 Why fibromyalgia is more than "just chronic pain"—and how it's an amplifier for symptoms
 💤 What brain fog really is and how to work with it instead of fighting it
🧘‍♀️ How nervous system regulation can help you manage flares and reclaim energy
📉 Why mindset denial can worsen symptoms—and how acceptance starts the healing
📚 The story behind Tami’s coaching institute and how she's training others to help
🩺 What to do when your doctor says, “I don’t know how to help you”
🧪 How small, mindful experiments can shift your day-to-day experience with chronic illness

🕒 Timeline Summary:

[1:47] – Tami shares how seeing silver linings shaped her identity even during childhood illness
 [6:47] – Her fibromyalgia symptoms started as a child, but diagnoses took decades
 [13:19] – The long road to diagnosis and the limitations of the traditional healthcare system
 [19:46] – Is fibromyalgia mental or physical? Unpacking misinformation and medical bias
 [25:12] – The problem with "support groups" vs. coaching for actual healing
 [30:29] – How she created the first fibromyalgia coaching program in the world
 [39:34] – What to do when your doctor says "I don't know how to help you"
 [45:56] – Why calling fibromyalgia "chronic pain" misses the bigger picture
 [49:00] – Using mindfulness as a science experiment to manage symptoms
 [54:18] – What is a “fibro flare” and how do you know when you’re in one?
 [1:00:24] – Real-life strategies for managing brain fog and reclaiming your clarity
 [1:04:57] – Understanding fibromyalgia as an amplifier—and how to turn the volume down

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🌐 Tami’s Website & Coaching Institute: fibromyalgiacoachinginstitute.com

🎧 The Fibromyalgia Podcast: fibromyalgiapodcast.com