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ME/CFS Choices - Lives that are Unhealthy

7/22/2014

4 Comments

 
Picture© 2014 TSM
In a comment last week, Tim shared a tale about a severely sick man who recovered when he changed the patterns of his life.  It got me thinking about ME/CFS and how the strategy I used to get well was to carefully examine all my illness patterns.  I documented them and looked for clues. Then I adjusted my patterns and so on until slowly over a long period of time I began to feel well again.  During that process I observed in myself patterns that not only didn’t serve we well as a person trying to recover from ME/CFS, these patterns were damaging for a healthy person.

Anyone struggling with ME/CFS becomes acutely aware of the health they once had and lost.  For many of us, myself included, that good health had been taken for granted.  When I think of the ways I had pushed myself physically, I wonder
how my body was able to tolerate it as long as it did.  I was clearly vulnerable when I contracted ME/CFS.

This cruel disease is challenging enough to unravel but then we also need to decide what kind of life we want when we are
finally well again.  "I want my life back", is frequently lamented.  So what kind of life do we want back?  I decided that I didn’t want the stressful, physically demanding life that I had before.  And I wanted to take better care of my healthy self than I had been.  My old eating and self-care habits were awful.  So as I began to recover, I decided to make many of my new healthier habits part of the lifestyle I would continue to follow when I returned to full health.

So don’t wait.  Start making choices now that you want to carry with you into your new healthier life when you have recovered from
ME/CFS.  It will help you now as you return to full health and it will help you to stay healthy.  What positive health habits are you planning to incorporate into your healthy life?  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

4 Comments
Tim Boland
7/24/2014 06:04:09 pm

Your dedication to becoming well is inspirational, Martha. I too have been looking at long term patterns, some of which seem to come from childhood. One of my daughters has a little boy who is a little over two. Like many children, he wants to go and go and becomes cranky when he is tired, he doesn’t want to go to sleep, he wants to be active and play no matter how tired he is.

Before my illness, I love photography so was even going out sometimes after midnight to capture memorable scenes with time exposures, staying up far too late. My passion for photography often seems to outweigh what my body is telling me now, that me back or knees are tired and sore, but I want to press on. I notice this while on the internet with friends, to answer just one more message even when my body is begging for me to take a break.

A positive change I have made in the past several months is trying, so far successfully, to give up a habit of smoking marijuana when I feel down, or want to relax. Though I know it helps some people who have some kinds of illness, I feel it takes significant energy from me and actually magnifies my pain, though I know my experience is my own. Now would rather listen to music or do meditation.

Sometimes it’s hard to give up those things which we enjoy, or at least do them in moderation. Your dedication has shown me it is possible to recover and my body tells me when I am on the right track. This is sensible for anyone but especially when we are ill, it take doing lots of good things for ourselves consistently, caring for ourselves over the long term that makes such a difference.

Reply
Martha
7/25/2014 07:03:02 am

Honestly, when I first started changing my habits to healthier ones, it was a drudge. But as I began to feel the positive results, it was wonderful. And right now I'm sitting outside, resting, relaxing and listening to a beautiful chorus of birds :)

Reply
Donna
7/24/2014 10:58:45 pm

Oh, this is a fun one, Martha!! Having been sick for so long, we have already instituted healthier eating habits and downsized our life style. Most currently we have been curtailing stress and negativity from our lives. Our outlook has changed; we now enjoy the simple things in life. With improved health I would be most grateful to accomplish daily tasks with more ease and lessen the burden of grocery shopping and cooking for my husband. I would take better care of my home and start a moderate exercise program, maybe alternating yoga, walking and swimming to strengthen my body. It would be fun to get out more: to restaurants, museums, the zoo and the theater. I'd take my camera nearly everywhere...I love photography. I would get my motorcycle license!! My husband and I dream of hitching our Vespa to the back of a camper van and away we would go!!

Reply
Martha
7/25/2014 06:56:37 am

Great Image Donna. I can see that Vespa trundling along behind your camper van. And a healthier you at the wheel. A good start is the work you've done to remove as much stress and negativity as you can from your lives. Nice!

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    Hello,  I'm
    Martha Kilcoyne

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    After struggling with CFS for four years I am fortunate now to be fully well and making choices about how I want to live my healthy life.  One choice is to be an active part of the CFS community and to offer one voice from the fully recoverd to the dialogue.  I'm glad you're here!   For more about me, here's my Bio.

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