The Internal Battle of Fibromyalgia and ADHD

When Your Body Needs Rest but Your Mind Won’t Switch Off

Living with fibromyalgia is exhausting. Living with ADHD can be mentally relentless. Living with both can feel like an internal tug-of-war you never agreed to play.

For many people with fibromyalgia, fatigue isn’t just “being tired.” It’s a deep, whole-body depletion — the kind that makes rest medically necessary, not optional. And yet, for those who also have ADHD (diagnosed or not), rest can feel strangely impossible.

Your body is begging to stop.Your nervous system is overloaded.But your mind?It’s wide awake, racing, analysing, replaying conversations, planning imaginary futures, jumping from thought to thought.

This isn’t laziness.It isn’t lack of discipline.And it certainly isn’t “all in your head.”

It’s a nervous system conflict.

Why Fibromyalgia and ADHD Clash So Intensely

Fibromyalgia is increasingly understood as a condition involving central nervous system sensitisation. The brain and spinal cord stay in a heightened state of alert, amplifying pain, fatigue, sensory input, and stress signals.

ADHD, meanwhile, is a condition of neurodivergent attention regulation, often involving:

• Racing or looping thoughts

• Difficulty switching off

• Hyperfocus followed by crashes

• An under-stimulated brain seeking constant input

Now put the two together.

Fibromyalgia demands:

• Rest

• Slowing down

• Nervous system regulation

ADHD resists:

• Stillness

• Silence

• “Doing nothing”

• Unstructured rest

So the body shuts down… while the mind keeps sprinting.

This creates a cruel paradox:

• You’re too exhausted to do anything

• But too mentally activated to relax

• And the guilt of “not resting properly” adds even more stress

Over time, this keeps the nervous system locked in survival mode, feeding pain, fatigue, poor sleep, and brain fog.

Why “Just Rest” Doesn’t Work

Many people with fibromyalgia are told to rest more.

But rest is not one-size-fits-all.

For an ADHD nervous system, lying still in silence can feel:

• Agitating

• Frustrating

• Anxiety-provoking

• Mentally claustrophobic

Instead of calming the system, it can actually increase internal stress, which then worsens pain and fatigue.

This is why so many people say:

“I’m exhausted… but I can’t switch off.”

Your nervous system doesn’t feel safe enough yet.

The Missing Piece: Nervous System-Appropriate Rest

The goal isn’t forcing stillness.The goal is down-regulating without boredom.

Rest that works for fibromyalgia + ADHD must:

• Calm the body

• Occupy the mind just enough

• Reduce threat signals

• Avoid overstimulation

Think “active rest”, not collapse.

Practical Techniques That Actually Help

1. Guided Rest Beats Silent Rest

Silence leaves space for racing thoughts.

Instead try:

• Guided hypnosis or body-based relaxation

• Yoga nidra (especially trauma-informed versions)

• Calm, slow-paced spoken audio

A voice gives the ADHD brain something to gently follow while allowing the body to rest.

2. Low-Demand Sensory Anchors

ADHD brains often need input to feel safe, but fibromyalgia needs that input to be gentle.

Try:

• Weighted blankets or lap pads (although some people may find this weight uncomfortable with fibromyalgia)

• Soft background sounds (rain, brown noise, low music)

• Holding something warm or textured

This reassures the nervous system without overloading it.

3. “Permission-Based” Rest

One of the biggest stressors is internal pressure:

“I should be resting better than this.”

That pressure alone can spike the nervous system.

Instead:

• Give yourself permission to rest imperfectly

• Remind yourself: resting is not performing

• Any reduction in load counts

Rest is a spectrum, not a pass/fail test.

4. Micro-Rest Instead of Full Shutdown

Long rest periods can feel overwhelming or unreachable.

Instead:

• 5–10 minute rest windows

• Set a gentle timer

• Let your system know there’s an end point

Short, frequent down-regulation often works better than one big attempt at rest.

5. Body-First, Mind-Second

Trying to “calm your thoughts” rarely works.

Calm the body first:

• Slow breathing (longer exhale than inhale)

• Progressive muscle relaxation

• Gentle rocking or swaying

• Hand-to-heart or self-soothing touch

As the body settles, the mind often follows — not the other way around.

6. Reframing Rest for ADHD Brains

For many people with ADHD, rest feels like failure.

A powerful reframe:

“I’m choosing rest so I can function better later.”

This shifts rest from “giving up” to strategic nervous system management — which ADHD brains respond to far better.

You’re Not Broken — You’re Overloaded

If you live with both fibromyalgia and ADHD, your system isn’t weak.

It’s working overtime.

You are navigating:

• Chronic pain

• Neurological fatigue

• Cognitive overstimulation

• And often, misunderstanding from others

The answer isn’t forcing yourself to relax harder.

It’s learning how to work with your nervous system instead of against it.

Rest doesn’t have to look still.Calm doesn’t have to mean silent.And healing doesn’t require switching your mind off — just letting it feel safe enough to slow down.

To find out more about Fibro Freedom Therapy and how you can find freedom from fibromyalgia, click here