It’s been a challenging couple of weeks for me.  Things are settled for now but I know that the future will at some point entail more of the same kind of challenges.  And I feel a kind of apprehension about it.  Of course, it’s reminded me of the feelings that used to affect me when I was struggling with ME/CFS.
 
I had tried mightily to not let feelings of anxiety or fear of more bad days get to me.  My cognitive brain accepted that I would have to deal with them as I slowly recovered but my emotions and psyche were uneasy – waiting for the signs and body pain that would be the harbinger of a bad day.  Sometimes I would allow this anxiety to affect my day even if it was by comparison a reasonable day.  It took a great deal of intentional focus to see the positive side of how I was physically feeling.  And to ignore the anxious voice inside of me.
 
The strategy that finally worked for me was planning ahead.  During the time I was bedridden, I would plan by the hour.  What should I be doing during the next few hours to achieve a good outcome?  As I got healthier, I planned by the day.  What should my day look like in order to stick to the protocol and have a successful day?  Eventually, I was looking at a week and planning a well paced reasonable series of days that generated a positive result.  It seems simple but it worked.
 

How do you let go of the apprehension?  What are your strategies?  Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission.  You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.  And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays.  And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

I was feeling down recently - kind of an internal implosion resulting from too many people and things weighing on me culminating with feeling sorry for myself.  For a period of time I allowed myself to be in that place.  And that was OK because sometimes we need to feel emotions in order to decide what to do about them.  And it gave me a small taste of my lowest points when I was struggling with ME/CFS.
 
I am however, at my innermost core, an optimist and that part of me eventually asserted itself and demanded that I move on.  I was reminded of the Law of Attraction and the theory that by focusing on either positive or negative thoughts, we attract the same energy or results.  The most documented example of this is the placebo effect which produces positive health results in blind medical trials where the patient is only given a simple sugar pill.  Patients are able to think themselves better. I was not aware that there is an equally well documented nocebo effect which produces negative health results in clinical trials where a placebo is used.  People who fear medication or who have a negative medical image can actually cause deterioration in their own health.  Powerful stuff.
 
For me that’s a strong statement about how much control we actually DO have in dealing with ME/CFS.  Once I turned the corner away from blame, denial and anger, and moved forward into solving my ME/CFS puzzle as a case study of one, I began to slowly get better.  And yes, I was actively managing my health every day and it was no accident that the daily scrutiny finally resulted in my return to health.  But my positive attitude directed at my determination to figure out my version of this cruel disease, was a big factor in succeeding despite the long haul.  How do you manage your daily attitude in order to attract positive healing?  What strategies work for you?  Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission.  You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.  And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays.  And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

When you are struggling with ME/CFS, it’s hard to see anything else.  ME/CFS controls your energy, your schedule, your choices, your physical comfort, your day, your night and your outlook.  Everything you consider is be interpreted through your ME/CFS colored glasses with a dose of brain fog.
 
It’s a necessity.  It’s a survival mechanism.  It’s reality.  And fighting this reality is fruitless.  Just more squandered energy and risked relapses.
 
Remembering that we have restrictions eventually becomes second nature.  And as much as it totally stinks, it can develop into the way forward.  Acceptance of this second nature or inner ME/CFS voice can bring rewards.  Better choices.  Better days.  Beginning to experience better weeks.
 
For me personally, it took several knock down relapses before I understood this dreaded voice.  Some days I wanted to throttle it.  The message was one that I didn’t want to hear.  But slowly, eventually, I began to listen.  Do you listen to the cautionary messages of your inner voice?  Are you learning to pace yourself better?  Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission.  You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.  And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays.  And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

It’s a cold rainy day in New England after several warm spring days.  For the middle of April one might expect something different.  But I’ve lived here my whole life and one can always count on the weather to change moment to moment.  So today, as I settled in for a less active indoor day, I started thinking about my struggle with ME/CFS and those rainy days.  One might think that like some people, rainy days would have seemed dreary and sad back then.  But the opposite was true.  Rainy days made me very happy.

Why?  When I was struggling with ME/CFS, sunny warm days made me miserable.  I wanted so much to be out and going about my life.  And lovely days were a tough reminder that I was too ill to participate in my own life – in anyone’s life.  Those days seemed twice as long as normal.  They dragged and dragged and dragged on some more.  Those days were depressing.

I must admit, somewhat ashamed, that cold rainy days made me feel like other people might have their days limited as mine were.  Not with the physical symptoms of ME/CFS but the limitations on mobility.  The restriction of activity and possibly some of the isolation.  I felt like other people were stuck in it with me.  A sort of warped sense of misery loves company.  And this made me happy.  OK, not one of my best moments.

As I began to understand that I needed to get off the ME/CFS roller coaster and focus on a real recovery plan, this weather influenced attitude began to change.  My daily approach to healing became a matter of choice as I was no longer a victim of ME/CFS but rather someone who was on an intentional recovery path.  Nowadays when I’m trapped indoors on cold rainy days, I like to make the best of it and imagine I have lots of company.  And a nap is nice too.  How do you relate to cold rainy days?  Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission.  You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.  And Guest Blogs are most welcome!
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Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays.  And consider being part of the conversation.
Be Well Again,
Martha