Historically, whether fibromyalgia was a true condition has been debated, as many researchers and clinicians believed it was a purely psychological phenomenon. However, recent research has discovered that this is a true disorder with physical characteristics that can significantly impact quality of life.
Now, fibromyalgia is thought to be a disorder characterized by improper pain signaling. People with FM tend to be hypersensitive to pain when compared to people without FM.[1] Additionally, people with FM also tend to have higher brain levels of glutamate[2] (an excitatory neurotransmitter) and decreased levels of GABA[3] (an inhibitory neurotransmitter), which may play a role in pain hypersensitivity.