...DEFEAT Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: ...............................................................You don't have to live with it
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ME/CFS Loss – Can be Temporary

3/26/2013

2 Comments

 
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© 2013 TSM
During my darkest days of struggling with ME/CFS, I mourned the loss of my healthy life.  The life that allowed me to run about with endless energy until I was spent, needing only a few nights of solid rest to recover.  And I held onto that loss for a while allowing it to further deepen my mood and draw precious energy from what little I had.  It was sometimes combined with resentment and a bit of self-blame enabling a solid blow to my psyche.  Fortunately, this was not a place I could live in for long.
    
As I began to understand that my medical practitioners, although most were well intentioned, had no clue what was wrong with me, I knew that it was going to be a hard road back to a healthy life.  And for me, it wasn’t an option not to try.  I could not accept this loss of my healthy life as a permanent chronic condition although that was the opinion I received over and over.  OK, I readily admit that I’m an optimist at heart and stubborn as well.

As I began to treat myself like a case study of one, the healing started, slowly - literally, painfully slow.  And it wasn’t until I was fully well that I began to find others who had also fully recovered.  Unfortunately, ME/CFS is so stigmatized that even former patients don’t talk about it.  So despite the pervasive message that patients don’t fully recover from ME/CFS, it’s not true.  ME/CFS can be temporary.  How do you handle moving forward from this feeling of loss?  What are your strategies?  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

2 Comments

ME/CFS Attitude – It Takes Love

3/19/2013

2 Comments

 
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© 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

2 Comments

ME/CFS Distractions – Stay on Plan

3/12/2013

4 Comments

 
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I had a plan for the last two weeks but it didn’t play out the way I’d envisioned.  Honestly, I can’t remember how things got so off track.  Maybe I was trying to juggle too much or maybe it was the reality that too many variables were in play.  I was truly over ambitious.  Of course this reminded me of when I was struggling with ME/CFS and it took so long for me to finally get focused on the plan – the single focus plan.

During the beginning of my struggle, I was riding the rollercoaster of push/crash.  I had no consistent plan for managing my illness.  Each day was a question mark.  How was I going to do today?  How would I feel?  And this lack of planning only made me feel worse.  Then I finally understood that all the distractions of life – all of the ‘To Dos’ – were keeping me from getting well again.  I needed to ignore the distractions and focus on saving my energy and using it with discretion.  I needed to stay with the plan.

I can confidently say, from experience, that all the ‘To Dos’ will still be there when you’re well again.  What are your strategies for staying on plan?  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


4 Comments
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    Hello,  I'm
    Martha Kilcoyne

    Welcome
     to our Community!

    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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