Do you feel stuck in a cycle of chronic pain and fatigue despite doing everything you’re told? You're not imagining it. And you’re not alone.
I talk to a lot of women living with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic pain conditions who take their medications, follow strict diets, try supplements, and even push themselves to exercise. Yet, the flare-ups never truly go away or even get worse.
This is often because most treatments focus on managing pain symptoms rather than addressing your body's deeper system that helps regulate pain relief, inflammation, and energy recovery: your endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The Hidden Loop: Pain, Stress, Inflammation, and Fatigue
When your ECS isn’t functioning properly, you end up in a loop:
- Pain triggers stress.
- Stress drives inflammation.
- Inflammation fuels more pain and fatigue.
Even the “healthy habits” you’re trying may only bring partial relief, because the system that restores balance is struggling to keep up.
Signs you may be solving the wrong problem:
- Medications ease symptoms but create side effects like fatigue, constipation and weight gain making it harder to keep up the healthy habits.
- Diets, supplements, or workouts promise change but improvements don’t last or are impossible to maintain long term.
The Endocannabinoid System: Your Body’s Overlooked Pain Regulator
The endocannabinoid system acts as your body’s internal regulator. It helps process pain signals, calm inflammation, improve sleep, and restore energy. Research continues to show its role in fibromyalgia pain, rheumatoid arthritis inflammation, and chronic fatigue syndromes:
- Movement matters. I know no one in pain like to hear this . . . BUT movement helps. Gentle exercise such as walking, stretching, or restorative yoga boosts your body’s natural endocannabinoids, compounds our body makes, that ease pain and lift mood. It’s not a gimmick or just something everyone says. It works.1
- Increase of cannabinoid receptors. Research links ECS dysregulation to fibromyalgia and identifies increased cannabinoid receptors in arthritic joints, to help your body try to “turn down the volume” of pain.2
- Natural compounds help. Cannabidiol (CBD) reduces inflammation in preclinical pain studies. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a fatty acid produced naturally in the body, has shown clinical trial success in lowering pain by calming inflammation. Beta-caryophyllene, found in black pepper, cloves, and cannabis, directly activates CB2 receptors in the ECS. These compounds are non-psychoactive, and studies suggest it can ease inflammation and support natural pain relief.
Supporting the Endocannabinoid System
Healing doesn’t come from chasing the next quick fix. Instead, it comes from supporting the system that manages pain and recovery:
- Nourishing foods that reduce inflammation
- Gentle, consistent movement that boosts endocannabinoids
- Restorative practices like sleep hygiene and stress reduction
- Targeted support from natural compounds like CBD, PEA, or beta-caryophyllene
Also, while we don’t typically think of spending time in nature, socializing with family and friends and smiling at others when out and about as medicine, these simple things help our body create substances that keep our ECS in balance.
Final Thought
If you’re exhausted from trying treatments and still feel stuck, it’s not your fault. Most traditional approaches simply haven’t addressed the endocannabinoid system, the deeper regulator of pain, inflammation, and energy.
Once you understand this system, everything starts to make sense, and real healing can finally begin.
With Care,
Cheri Sacks, "Your Neighbor, The Nurse"
Cheri Sacks, R.N., C.D.C.E.S.
Ready to stop fighting and start healing? Send me a message. Let's talk about what your body really needs.
👉 I help women with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis uncover what’s really keeping them stuck and find their next best step toward natural, lasting relief. Message me if you’re ready to explore what this could look like for you. writing here...