...DEFEAT Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: ...............................................................You don't have to live with it
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ME/CFS Selectivity – A Time to be Picky

5/28/2013

6 Comments

 
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The main reason for our move was to downsize.  While raising our kids, a larger home was wonderful to have.  But lately, we seemed to be dwarfed by the large structure.  So we have accomplished that task and now live in a significantly smaller home.  And although we thought we had divested of a lot of the materials things that filled that larger home, we find ourselves surrounded by piles of boxes - in the basement, in the garage, in the living room, everywhere.  I know what’s in some of them but honestly, whatever is in the rest, I clearly don’t need.  So of course it reminded me of my struggle with ME/CFS and how much pain it caused me to have to let go of many of the parts of my life that I could no longer handle – at least while I was healing.

At the time, I couldn’t image life without some of those activities and I allowed their loss to depress me.  For a while, I valued them more than my health.  But in time, as I focused on getting well and began to see improvement, I had the first real opportunity to add one thing back into my recovery plan.  What would I chose?  What had I missed most that would fit in with my improving energy levels without compromising my progress? 

Now, as I make choices in a new smaller home, it’s like clearing everything off the limited kitchen counter space and then making intentional decisions about what to prioritize and put back.  And now, as I also experienced back then, I liked the selectivity of what to include in my life.  Before I was sick with ME/CFS, I was ‘doing’ a lot of things that were not fruitful personally – things that seemed important at the time but were really just fillers and ‘invented’ priorities by a Type A personality.  I finally began to see that I needed to be selective - It was definitely a time to be picky.  What picky choices are you making?   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

6 Comments

ME/CFS Focus – To the Exclusion of All Else

5/21/2013

4 Comments

 
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My apologies for missing my regular blog of late – I have been in a single-minded mode.  We made the decision to move – sell and buy a home – and have been occupied with little else after our house sold quickly.  My life has been about the move and nothing else for months.  All my other normal pursuits fell away and my life became a single note – the move.  Of course I began to think about my struggle with ME/CFS and how, at first, I tried to keep juggling all the other things in my life.  But that turned out to be a waste of precious energy.  When I finally began to understand the incredibly difficult challenge of ME/CFS, I realized that I needed to focus on getting well to the exclusion of all else.

With ME/CFS, my former ‘type A’ life was totally unsustainable.  I was forced to put my life on hold. I was forced to be a patient.  I was forced to find answers to my version of ME/CFS.  I was forced to focus on ME/CFS to the exclusion of all else.  


Now, the hardest part of the move is over.  We are in our new home, digging thru boxes trying to find things.  I actually cooked a meal today.  And with ME/CFS, I finally got to a point when I could begin to bring some things back into my life - slowly and selectively.  But now with the move and back then with ME/CFS, I’m keeping my focus on the goal to the exclusion of all else.  How are you keeping your focus on getting well again?  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

ME/CFS Negativity – Walk Away from It

5/1/2013

2 Comments

 
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© 2013 TSM
Recently I was talking with an acquaintance about a personal challenge he was working through.  As we began to explore some of his options, the conversation quickly turned negative as he recounted events in his past that he blamed on others and offered as the reasons why he was being held back now.  In contrast, I have a friend whose childhood and youth was so challenging, I’ve wondered if I could have come through it.  And yet, she is one of the most nurturing, kind and upbeat people I know.

Of course, I think about my struggle with ME/CFS and
I honestly admit that I spent a lot of wasted time in negative territory at the beginning.  The total loss of control of my life paired with the frustration of no answers, led me down a negative path.  It took a couple years of indulging in the negative before I realized that it was not only useless, it drained me even more than the ME/CFS itself.

When you’re struggling with ME/CFS, it’s understandable to harbor anger as well as some negativity toward your situation and even yourself.  But it only saps our already limited energy.  In order to walk that path back to health, leave negativity behind you.  Walk away from it.  You’ll be more energized and less burdened.  How do you deal with the negative?  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
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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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