With me, I see that having minimal stress is one of the biggest factors in my feeling better. I have a business which I run, and though I have delegated a lot of it over the past year, if I have a busy morning which requires phone calls, especially around stressful things, the pain I feel that day is often much more pronounced.
Before CFS, I still had a lot of stress at times, but I had a better ability to ‘disconnect’, to watch a movie or something on TV which helped to de-stress, to just put the stress aside for the day. Having pain which typically increases as the day goes by, there is a constant irritant, even on those days when pain is minimal. I’ve tried to describe it to some others that it’s like having a toothache all day, where the pain may subside but the pain resides in more than one place in my body with CFS.
I listen to a Chi Kung video nearly every day which on some days is remarkably relaxing as it is about developing a deep sense of our own breathing and our bodies. In the past couple of days I’ve listened to Joseph Campbell’s Mythos, I write to friends on YouTube and post videos there as I love to photograph. Today I went for a walk and it is uncommonly beautiful here, and I noticed I felt much less pain and happier. I do feel there is a real connection between feeling happy, uplifted or even having moments of pure silliness, these emotions bring some real relief. And I am doing much more than I was in my business a year ago, just able to work for longer periods of time, interspersed with very much needed periods of rest.
I have run into some who say that getting a lot of good sleep and rest really does not make a difference with CFS. I can’t speak for everyone but for me, sleeping and resting well makes a huge difference. Having a good sound sleep at night often makes a big difference, in a positive way, in how I feel the next day.
_____________________________
Thanks Tim! How do you handle stress? Do you have any strategies that work? 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
Before CFS, I still had a lot of stress at times, but I had a better ability to ‘disconnect’, to watch a movie or something on TV which helped to de-stress, to just put the stress aside for the day. Having pain which typically increases as the day goes by, there is a constant irritant, even on those days when pain is minimal. I’ve tried to describe it to some others that it’s like having a toothache all day, where the pain may subside but the pain resides in more than one place in my body with CFS.
I listen to a Chi Kung video nearly every day which on some days is remarkably relaxing as it is about developing a deep sense of our own breathing and our bodies. In the past couple of days I’ve listened to Joseph Campbell’s Mythos, I write to friends on YouTube and post videos there as I love to photograph. Today I went for a walk and it is uncommonly beautiful here, and I noticed I felt much less pain and happier. I do feel there is a real connection between feeling happy, uplifted or even having moments of pure silliness, these emotions bring some real relief. And I am doing much more than I was in my business a year ago, just able to work for longer periods of time, interspersed with very much needed periods of rest.
I have run into some who say that getting a lot of good sleep and rest really does not make a difference with CFS. I can’t speak for everyone but for me, sleeping and resting well makes a huge difference. Having a good sound sleep at night often makes a big difference, in a positive way, in how I feel the next day.
_____________________________
Thanks Tim! How do you handle stress? Do you have any strategies that work? 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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