The Life Of a Showgirl...In Payamas

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The Life of a Showgirl: Living with Fibromyalgia in the Spotlight

Taylor Swift’s music is full of raw lyrics about heartbreak, reinvention, and the invisible battles we fight when no one is watching. Listening to it, I couldn’t help but think about what it means to live with fibromyalgia — because in a way, it feels like living the life of a showgirl.


On the outside, people see the version of me that’s “ready for the stage.” Smiling, dressed up, holding it together for family events, birthdays, or even just a grocery run. Like a showgirl, I know how to perform — to sparkle when I need to, to pretend the pain isn’t stealing my energy, and to act like everything is okay.


But backstage, when the lights fade, reality hits. The makeup comes off, the heels are kicked aside (let’s be honest, mostly swapped for slippers), and the body that carried me through the performance collapses into exhaustion. That’s the side most people don’t see. The flare-ups, the stiffness, the tears of frustration.


Still, there’s a strange kind of power in being a “showgirl” of chronic illness. I’ve learned that putting on the costume isn’t just about pretending for others — sometimes it’s about convincing myself that I can keep going. That I can begin again tomorrow. That I’m still me, even when my body feels unrecognizable.


Like Taylor’s lyrics, my life holds both glitter and grit. Fibromyalgia may have taken center stage in ways I never asked for, but I’m still the one holding the script. Some days I’m the tortured poet, scribbling my truth in pain. Other days, I’m the showgirl, smiling through it all. Both are me. And both deserve their place in the spotlight.


Because at the end of the day, I’m not just surviving the show. I’m rewriting it.

Follow me on twitter for updates https://x.com/FlareflourishF

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