How Much Pressure is required to strum? (Sylvia asks)

(New FOTMD member Sylvia Moore has asked us all the following question...I hope some of our wonderful members here will give her some helpful suggestions):

Hey everyone,

I am a newbie and a complete novice when it comes to music and the dulcimer. We have an old Sears special we bought about 30 years ago. It's been forgotten much of the time. We would throw it in the back of a closet and it would get shuffled around. It's veneer and made in Korea. That's all I know about it. Now,I don't have a decent dulcimer to compare it to. I have been able to learn "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" and I am now smitten with the dulcimer. However, this thing is really hard to strum. I watch Youtube and everyone makes it look so easy. Today I was using the remote to watch Youtube on the TV and suddenly my arm, wrist area, became very sore. The remote was giving me trouble so I know I was pushing hard on it. I am wondering if maybe the dulcimer is too hard to strum and it made my wrist sensitive and that is why it's sore or if the TV remote did it.

Hubby thinks it's because I have been playing the dulcimer too much but I don't agree. I will watch a few vids and get inspired and play "Aunt Rhody" a few times and then go back to watching the vids. At this point I am trying to gain as much knowledge as I can so things will make sense.

Sorry for rattling on but I will have to take some Advil and rest my wrist.

I'm happy to find this message board. If this had been available years ago I would not have jumped on it.

Thanks for the help I have already received just by reading the past posts. And thanks for the help I know I will get now.

Sylvia