...DEFEAT Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: ...............................................................You don't have to live with it
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SEID/CFS Attitude – Find Thankfulness

11/24/2015

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When I sat down to blog about Thanksgiving, I looked at what I had written last year.  I don’t think I can do a better job of expressing how I feel about this holiday and struggling with SEID/CFS at the same time.  So here it is again:
 
Thanksgiving traditionally generates clichés about thankfulness.  The mantra basically goes like this:  Be thankful for what you DO have, not what is missing.  Most
of us would agree with this outlook.  It is better to focus on the positive.  But it isn’t easy to do especially when you’ve been struggling with SEID/CFS for a year or for 20 years.
 
When I was sick, I would allow myself to indulge in some self pity around this time of year but I knew that was totally unproductive and a waste of what little energy I had.  I would then get irritated with myself for my self-centered attitude and so just added more negativity to my load.  But it can be unfair to expect a person who is struggling with a body that can’t handle normal activity to be upbeat, positive and ultimately thankful.
 
So as the rest of the world around me went about their daily routines, I would look at my life and try to find something to be thankful for.  Mostly, I focused on the few people around me who understood what I was going through and supported me in large and small ways.  I made a point to tell them how much I appreciated what they did.
 
And after I let go of the negativity toward myself, I realized that I needed to appreciate the work I did all year long.  The work of getting well again.  Sticking to the snails pace recovery, following the protocol when I didn’t want to and being present in my life in whatever way I could realistically handle.
 
How are you handling thankfulness?  Are you finding things to be thankful for?  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.

And for you and all of your loved ones,
I wish you a warm and Bountiful Thanksgiving,
Be Well Again,

 
Martha

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SEID/CFS Perspective and the Inner Voice

11/17/2015

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When you are struggling with SEID/CFS, it’s hard to see anything else.  SEID/CFS controls your energy, your schedule, your choices, your physical comfort, your day, your night and your outlook.  Everything you consider can be interpreted through your SEID/CFS colored glasses with a dose of brain fog.
 
For someone with SEID/CFS, it’s a necessity.  It’s a survival mechanism.  It’s reality.  And fighting this reality is fruitless.  Just more squandered energy and risked relapses.
 
Remembering that we have restrictions eventually becomes second nature.  And as much as it totally stinks, it can develop into the way forward.  Acceptance of this second nature or inner SEID/CFS voice can bring rewards.  Better choices.  Better days.  Beginning to experience better weeks.

 
For me personally, it took several knock down relapses before I understood this dreaded voice.  Some days I wanted to throttle it.  The message was one that I didn’t want to hear.  But slowly, eventually, I began to listen.  Do you listen to the cautionary messages of your inner voice?  Are you learning to pace yourself better and avoid severe relapses?  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

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SEID/CFS Attitude – Stilling the Voices

11/10/2015

4 Comments

 
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Everyday SEID/CFS sufferers deal with choices:  The ‘energy envelope’ as it’s referred to nowadays.  The emphasis is placed on how much energy you have, what MUST you handle today and what can you postpone or just let go of altogether.  This approach refers almost exclusively to physical energy expenditure.
 
When I was sick, physical energy conservation was a primary concern for me.  But I came to realize over time that emotional and psychological energy were even more important.  Doesn’t make sense?  Here’s how it would go for me.
 
During the times when I was ‘resting’ and making well balanced decisions about my physical energy, my mind was still active.  Almost racing along despite the brain fog, I kept sifting through things mentally like a Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness passage on speed.  And despite my best efforts to be upbeat and positive about my situation and progress to date, I would eventually wander down the self questioning and negative path of doubt.  And then would come the damaging and harsh list of everything that I was failing at because of SEID/CFS.
 
For me, this was exhausting.  And debilitating.  So over time I learned to still my mind.  Beating myself up mentally wasn’t changing anything except eating up precious energy that I needed for the long haul.

 
So after you fend off the insensitive comments of others, how do you look upon yourself? Do you fester over your situation?  How do you still the negative voices?  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

SEID/CFS Nutrition - Avoid the Negative

11/3/2015

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Picture© 2015 TSM
Often I’m asked what nutrition plan I followed when I was struggling with SEID/CFS.  Honestly, it wasn’t so much what I ate.  It was what I DIDN’T eat.  I simply learned to avoid the negative foods that are a standard part of our American diet.  Of course none of this came about on day one.  It was over time that I began to recognize the need to give my immune system a fighting chance to get well by fueling it with healthy food and drinks.

Ever since we were kids, we’ve been told by nutritionists to eat healthy food.  The various pyramids and food groups have come and gone but the message has been the same.  And there’s really no mystery to it.  Eat healthy food.
 
Our biggest road block to following this simple adage is discipline.  In our consumer driven economy, there’s a mega agricultural and food business that wants us to consume a lot of unhealthy cheap stuff that’s profitable.  And they have the market control to make it easy for us to acquire and eat their stuff and harder to get something different.  So the first challenge is to PLAN to eat healthy food.  This may sound simplistic but if I’m hungry and there isn’t anything healthy to eat, I go for the shelf with the packaged food.  And sometimes, even when I have healthy food in the house, I don’t feel like preparing it.  Make a salad?  Sometimes I’m just too tired.  So as simple as it sounds to eat healthy food, we have to work at it.  And when you’re struggling with SEID/CFS, every ounce of energy is precious.  So you need to decide to allocate some of your limited supply of energy toward providing your body with the healthy food it needs to generate even more energy.  Once you look at it that way, it’s a cliché of win-win.

 
So what’s healthy food?  This is a personal decision in terms of what you know to be true about your metabolism.  In today’s culture, many people are vegetarian or vegan.  Some observe various restrictions in their diets that have made a huge difference in their health – gluten free, sugar free, etc.  Whether you need to be more or less restrictive can be a matter of experimentation or testing.  But whatever you do, as you work your way back to health, be sure to only put positive, healthy food into your system.  Don’t eat negative food – like soda and copious sweets - that your body will have to spend precious energy clearing and processing.  Plan to eat healthy food.  What are your strategies for eating healthy?  What works for you?  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

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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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