© 2014 TSM Donna’s recent sharing from a woman who has lupus and spoke of managing her energy got me thinking about my own experience in my life with illness. As a youth, I had chicken pox, measles and the mumps over a period of years. Like many of us, I’ve also had bad colds from time to time and the flu. Fortunately for me, my health overall was very good until my late fifties with the onset of CFS.
As I was enjoying the afternoon in my lawn chair today, my body started feeling relaxed and good. Not free of all pain or some numbness, but definitely better. I love to photograph and saw a most beautiful white puffy cloud and was tempted to get up and make a picture.
It occurred to me that when many of us become ill, we often do our best to rest, to become well, and it is also a common refrain for many to start feeling better, and to jump right back into our routine, or at least to start doing more than our bodies are ready for and then have a relapse. Just as with this illness, it is hard sometimes when I am feeling better and want to get more done to feel the after effects of too much activity until the next day.
As when we have much milder illnesses, whether a cold, the flu or the mumps, there is a temptation to start doing too much too quickly. Sometimes we hear of someone who just ‘can’t shake this cold’ but do eventually become better. So in that sense, a more serious illness shares this cycle of truly needing rest and recuperation and not overdoing in order to get better.
It is vital especially now to not do too much, even though on an afternoon or upon arising in the morning, we feel much better. It’s natural to want to use some of that energy. It’s hard to pace, to not do too much. So I was thinking to myself, wouldn’t I rather have an excess of energy today, to even store up a little extra energy? Would my body like this better, even though the temptation to create or do more house work seems so appealing? My sense is that though it is fun and even life affirming to want to be truly active, I know my body needs this extra energy, even little bits from time to time, to heal and to recover.
Tim
Thanks Tim! 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
As I was enjoying the afternoon in my lawn chair today, my body started feeling relaxed and good. Not free of all pain or some numbness, but definitely better. I love to photograph and saw a most beautiful white puffy cloud and was tempted to get up and make a picture.
It occurred to me that when many of us become ill, we often do our best to rest, to become well, and it is also a common refrain for many to start feeling better, and to jump right back into our routine, or at least to start doing more than our bodies are ready for and then have a relapse. Just as with this illness, it is hard sometimes when I am feeling better and want to get more done to feel the after effects of too much activity until the next day.
As when we have much milder illnesses, whether a cold, the flu or the mumps, there is a temptation to start doing too much too quickly. Sometimes we hear of someone who just ‘can’t shake this cold’ but do eventually become better. So in that sense, a more serious illness shares this cycle of truly needing rest and recuperation and not overdoing in order to get better.
It is vital especially now to not do too much, even though on an afternoon or upon arising in the morning, we feel much better. It’s natural to want to use some of that energy. It’s hard to pace, to not do too much. So I was thinking to myself, wouldn’t I rather have an excess of energy today, to even store up a little extra energy? Would my body like this better, even though the temptation to create or do more house work seems so appealing? My sense is that though it is fun and even life affirming to want to be truly active, I know my body needs this extra energy, even little bits from time to time, to heal and to recover.
Tim
Thanks Tim! 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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