...DEFEAT Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: ...............................................................You don't have to live with it
  • Home
  • About
    • This Site
    • Martha
  • Participate
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Submissions
  • Links
  • Book
  • Further Lessons
  • Thanks

ME/CFS/SEID Transitions – Progress to Being Proactive

7/12/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Three years ago we took in an abandoned Maine Coon cat so she could be transitioned to a new home.  Her prior life was with an elderly woman who dotted on her and made her quite comfortable.  Then, her owner became ill and was in hospital care for a month.  During that time, the cat lived alone in the house and a neighbor came in to feed her.  She had always been a reclusive cat who disliked strangers so the month was traumatic.  Her owner wasn’t able to return to her own home so we ‘captured’ the freaked out cat and deposited her on our heated porch.  Needless to say this transition had been hard.  Watching her struggle reminded me of myself when I was first diagnosed with ME/CFS/SEID.

Being ripped out my normal life and dropped into the wastebasket of ME/CFS/SEID was horrifying.  I hated it.  I railed against it.  I expended a lot of energy being angry with my situation and the medical establishment.  The cat on our porch did the exact same thing.  She was clearly pissed off.  When she wasn’t eating or sleeping, she hissed and growled at everyone except me.  She even swatted if the wrong person got too close.  She clearly wanted affection and purred loudly when I pet her but she was confused and mad.  Who wouldn’t be?

She wanted her old life back just like I did.  But the path for her to find a new home was not to go back the way she came.  And so it was with me.  I had to progress forward to find a new path in order to regain my health.  I had to progress to being proactive – to taking responsibility for my recovery and to stop wasting energy on the blame game.  The cat on our porch didn’t have the tool of reasoning.  I couldn’t sit down with her and explain that she was just in transition and that we were looking for a permanent home for her – a new place that would be warm and loving and much like her old home.  In the end, we did find her a new home and a new elderly woman who dotted on her.  She’s still alive and well at 16.
 
Before I accepted my struggle with ME/CFS/SEID, I was in that same transitional place.  If you’re still there, It’s time to progress forward into taking proactive control of your illness and your path back to wellness.  Are you out of transition?  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

2 Comments
Tim Boland
7/12/2016 04:33:53 pm

Your story about the cat having to make the transition, and being none to pleased about it, really resonates with having this condition, Martha. I did not ask for it and certainly did not want it. I went through a long period of just wishing for a time machine to take me back to just before I became ill - of course forearmed with the knowledge of just what I need to do to prevent it. In my case, it would truly have made a difference.

Each of us has had a different journey bringing us to where we are. I am in the process today of grieving a dear friend who will likely be moving to Europe, and fear that if she does go and stays there, that this will be a friend that perhaps won't be as available or there as before. So I am allowing this period of grief, a little crying, as each thing we lose in our lives, well, it is natural to grieve and to allow ourselves those feelings.

The good news about my body and I imagine for others too, is that when I care for myself, unlike a machine, my body does want to heal and feel better too. I am reading a book I just received called Silence by the wonderful, calm presence Thich Naht Hahn. He went through horrific experiences while in his native Vietnam while the war was going on, yet he has found peace and healing in his life. It is from stories like yours and his, Martha, and feeling the effects of deep rest on me - which are positive - which continues to inspire me each day.

Reply
Martha
7/12/2016 04:43:57 pm

Full disclosure Tim, I spent way too much time when I got sick being pissed off about it. I really identified with that cat! Sorry for your friends departure to Europe. Even though the web gives us many opportunities to connect, it just isn't the same as it was. The book you recommend sounds heartfelt. I'll check it out. Thanks Tim!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    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.

      Join Our Community
      Enter your email address to
      follow this blog.

    Join

    For Books, Supplements, Sleep aids and more

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011

    Categories

    All
    Appreciation
    Attitude
    Being Positive
    Brain Fog
    Choices
    Community
    Connect
    Coping
    Data
    Diagnosis
    Doctor
    Emotions
    Energy
    First
    Food
    Funding
    Genetics
    Goals
    Gratitude
    Groups
    Guest Blog
    Gut Feelings
    Health
    Helping
    Holidays
    Hope
    Humor
    Immune Support
    Inner Voice
    Ion Channelopathy
    Irony
    Isolation
    Journal
    Log
    Mantra
    Memory
    Mind
    Negativity
    Nutrition
    Opinions
    Organizations
    Outlook
    Pace
    Participate
    Patience
    Patterns
    Personality
    Perspective
    Protocol
    Provider
    Pushing Too Hard
    Pushing Too Hard
    Record
    Recovery
    Relapses
    Research
    Resolutions
    Rest
    Sleep Depravation
    Step By Step
    Step By Step
    Strategies
    Supplements
    Support
    Take Control
    Take Control
    Thankfulness
    Vacation
    Variables
    Version

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Copyright © 2011-2012
    Triple Spiral MEDIA LLC