The Positive and Negative Reactions to Lady Gaga's Fibromyalgia Announcement
The Positive and Negative Reactions to Lady Gaga's Fibromyalgia Announcement
Photo: Lady Gaga. Source: NBC News.
Not that long ago, Lady Gaga broke the news of the cancellation of her upcoming world tour. Together with this, she also surprised the world with the announcement of her fibromyalgia diagnosis. The revelation obtained a lot of mixed reactions from both the singer’s fans and critics, but it also made many wonder about the real attributes of the disease, which also brought awareness to some who didn't even know it was a disease. Though it's clear that she had massive amounts of support from her little monsters and those who understood, she also had to fend off ignorant and cruel comments from critics who still consider fibromyalgia isn't a disease at all.
What really is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by pervasive pain in the muscle or deep tissues, which also leads the patients of this disease to have extreme fatigue, mood changes or memory problems. Aside from those, sufferers may also find it difficult to sleep and concentrate. Researchers also believe that the painful sensations are intensified through the disease influencing the way the brain works with the pain signals. Currently, a study regarding the sensitization is being conducted to better understand the cause of it, looking at both the structural and functional brain changes.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia are said to occur after a surgery, physical trauma, infection, and even psychological stress. It is a well-known fact that Lady Gaga has undergone emotional and sexual abuse during her adolescence or young adulthood, so those experiences might have affected her brain mechanisms that would have originally provided protection against the development of the pain.
Two months ago, Lady Gaga posted a photo showing her shoulder being treated by a female doctor where she indicated that she still felt so blessed to have such intelligent female doctors despite her frustrating day with the chronic pain. Because the symptoms are often invisible, it's hard for most people to understand that the disease is a disease. Many who have it are exposed to criticism from all over, including their friends and family.
Fibromyalgia is said to affect five million people in the US alone, and most of its victims are women. Unfortunately, the cause of the disease still remains a mystery to health researchers and doctors, but relations to chemical changes in the brain and genetics are suspected.
How did Gaga explain her disease?
The icon has a documentary film on Netflix called “Five Foot Two” which shows the history of her accumulation with the disease. In her film, Lady Gaga reminisces about the time she had gotten a broken hip, the one which made her cancel several tour dates in 2013, which was then considered to be a trigger, not only for her but for most patients as well. After a short recovery, Lady Gaga’s condition got worse due to the nature of the disease itself; it negatively affected the brain’s way of dealing with pain signals. In the documentary, Lady Gaga could be seen sitting on the couch, crying in pain and suffering during her doctor’s visit. On Instagram, the superstar shared a photo of her praying and holding a rosary when she apologized for cancelling her tour once more, this is also how she explained her diagnosis of fibromyalgia.