Lady Gaga Closes the Curtains on her Worldwide Tour
Lady Gaga’s Joanne tour was perhaps one of the most anticipated music tours in 2017. Concert venues quickly sold out tickets, and fans rejoiced at the chance to see their idol. Earlier this week Gaga was ‘devastated’ to announce that she would be canceling 10 concerts due to severe pain.
Lady Gaga has Fibromyalgia
Lady Gaga, 31, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, revealed in an Instagram post in 2016 that she suffers from chronic pain. She didn’t provide further details until the 2017 release of her Netflix documentary, “Gaga: Five Foot Two,” when she announced that her chronic condition is fibromyalgia.
Her decision to cancel the tour reinforces the fact that people with fibromyalgia are often required to make tough decisions, many times in conflict with their desires. Fibromyalgia is, among other things, a constant battle of body versus mind.
Lady Gaga Cancels Joanne Tour
The night before she was scheduled to appear at the O2 in London, Gaga took to Twitter to announce her ‘tough decision.’
“I’m so devastated I don’t know how to describe it,” she wrote. “All I know is that if I don’t do this, I am not standing by the words or meaning of my music. My medical team is supporting the decision for me to recover at home. We’re canceling the last 10 shows of my Joanne World Tour.”
“I love this show more than anything, and I love you, but this is beyond my control,” she added. “London, Manchester, Zurich, Koln, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin. And Rio. I promise I will be back in your city, but for now I need to put myself and my wellbeing first. I love you, forever. CXX Gaga.”
Ticketholders were all offered the opportunity to get a full refund.
Self Care is King (or Queen)
One important takeaway from this is that it’s OK to set boundaries. Conditions like fibromyalgia don’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich and famous, you can still be affected by a chronic condition. And setting boundaries and putting self-care first is often a difficult decision.
We might frequently become frustrated by what we can’t do, and it’s easy to get caught up in that. Gaga got to where she is today due to hard work and persistence, and to have to cancel a portion of living the dream was undoubtedly a tough call.
If you have fibromyalgia, you might feel frustrated about not being able to go to work, having to apply for disability or having to forgo social events. This can be so frustrating. If we reframe that; however, into congratulating ourselves for putting self-care first, it places us in a position of empowerment rather than the victim. This subtle mind switch is a powerful tool.
For more on mindfulness in the face of chronic pain, read 5 Mantras for Pain Management.
Although Gaga’s tour cancelation is certainly a disappointment for fans, we at Pain Resource applaud Lady Gaga for putting her health needs first. This is a great lesson in pain management.
