© 2013 TSM
Pope Francis was inaugurated in Rome today and I had the opportunity to listen to parts of his sermon. He is the spiritual leader of a good chunk of the Earth’s population so I was curious to hear what he chose to talk about for his first homily. I honestly admit that I thought I would hear a string of reminders about the strict rules that Catholics should follow. It was refreshing to hear him speak about love. He emphasized the simple teachings of Jesus to love one another and to treat each other and ourselves with kindness.
As I thought about my struggle with ME/CFS, it reminded me how unkind and unloving I was, at times, to myself. It wasn’t intentional. It was more of a side effect of how the medical practitioners sometimes made me feel. Or the look or comment from someone who judged me to be lazy. Or my own self-doubt about having an inherent weakness or flaw, which triggered my struggle with ME/CFS. And when I was bedridden, there were endless hours to process negative fodder. We can be most unkind to ourselves.
When I finally started to understand the importance of proactively managing my energy, it clicked that the mental drain I placed on myself was just as important as the physical. I had to stop beating myself up. As I began to respect the work I was doing in order to get well, I began to heal. Are you harsh on yourself? How do you cope? Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.
Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.
Be Well Again,
Martha
As I thought about my struggle with ME/CFS, it reminded me how unkind and unloving I was, at times, to myself. It wasn’t intentional. It was more of a side effect of how the medical practitioners sometimes made me feel. Or the look or comment from someone who judged me to be lazy. Or my own self-doubt about having an inherent weakness or flaw, which triggered my struggle with ME/CFS. And when I was bedridden, there were endless hours to process negative fodder. We can be most unkind to ourselves.
When I finally started to understand the importance of proactively managing my energy, it clicked that the mental drain I placed on myself was just as important as the physical. I had to stop beating myself up. As I began to respect the work I was doing in order to get well, I began to heal. Are you harsh on yourself? How do you cope? Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.
Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.
Be Well Again,
Martha
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