Before I was sick with ME/CFS, this was the time of year for long lists of ‘To Dos’ and even longer lists of ‘To Buys’. These lists included a lot of shopping trips, decorating, baking, wrapping, card mailing, entertaining and generally trying to please everyone I loved and cared about. Even when I was healthy, it was overwhelming and I frequently fell short. Then when I was struggling with ME/CFS, it was the perfect storm that launched a major push crash cycle. And more failure which, of course, I internalized and turned into more stress and energy drain.
After a particularly bad holiday week, I finally came to realize that not taking care of myself not only hurt me but actually added to the load for everyone else. The best gift I could give to my family around the holidays was the healthiest me I could muster. And that required tearing up the ‘To Do’ list and being realistic. Not easy to do when the carols are playing and the lights are twinkling. The cultural and commercial pressure is pervasive around the holidays.
Eventually I learned to cut myself some holiday slack and let it all go. I picked out a few choice things which I gave myself plenty of time to do. And I gave my family the healthiest ME/CFS sufferer I could manage. Even now, after I am fully recovered, I have eliminated much of the holiday rush. I’ll never go back to the hectic ‘To Do’ list. What have you trimmed from the holiday ‘To Dos’? 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
After a particularly bad holiday week, I finally came to realize that not taking care of myself not only hurt me but actually added to the load for everyone else. The best gift I could give to my family around the holidays was the healthiest me I could muster. And that required tearing up the ‘To Do’ list and being realistic. Not easy to do when the carols are playing and the lights are twinkling. The cultural and commercial pressure is pervasive around the holidays.
Eventually I learned to cut myself some holiday slack and let it all go. I picked out a few choice things which I gave myself plenty of time to do. And I gave my family the healthiest ME/CFS sufferer I could manage. Even now, after I am fully recovered, I have eliminated much of the holiday rush. I’ll never go back to the hectic ‘To Do’ list. What have you trimmed from the holiday ‘To Dos’? 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
RSS Feed
