In order to come to terms with living with this condition I have been forced to reassess some of my core beliefs and values. These core beliefs and values develop and are reinforced over time. Some of them are absorbed from our society or culture without us ever really thinking about whether they are right … Read more
Patience is a very important quality to cultivate when you have a ME/CFS. We regularly face challenges that would test anybody’s patience and the consequence of letting them get to us only serve to worsen our health. Any time we get wound up or impatient we’re adding to the problems with our sympathetic nervous system … Read more
There are many unpleasant feelings that are very regular visitors to any chronic illness sufferer. For example frustration and disappointment that today you’re not feeling well enough to do what you planned to do. Or that you thought you’d been doing well recently, but not today. Or sadness at being reminded of the things in … Read more
This week I’ve been lucky enough to have a good week. I went for a lovely 2-mile walk on my day off which is just about my limit at the moment. The weather was lovely, there were some really pretty views of the Shropshire countryside and altogether it was a very uplifting experience. Later that … Read more
One of the great difficulties with chronic illness is that you can no longer do the activities you used to share with your friends. Understandably they still enjoy those activities and will probably continue doing them without you. I certainly wouldn’t want any of my friends to miss out on any opportunity to have fun. But … Read more
For many of us this illness robs us of the ability to play a productive role in society. Sometimes we are so unwell we are completely unable to contribute to anything. Sometimes we just have to cut back often needing to withdraw our energy form other important parts of our life just so that we … Read more
Recently I’ve realised I’ve got out of the habit of being happy. It’s been a combination of things, one piling on top of another. I’ve been feeling ‘below baseline’ for a couple of months now. I’ve made very slow progress from a viral crash, (or maybe I’ve been dealing with several infections in sequence?) I’ve … Read more
Today I woke up feeling fed-up and disheartened. This is a very common problem when you suffer from a chronic illness, even when you have come to terms with the fact that you will have to live your life in a very different way to how you imagined it. It’s natural to hope to see … Read more
Since I wasn’t very well a few weeks ago my recovery has been very slow. It’s been very disheartening that I’m still not back to the levels of activity I could maintain before that virus hit me. I’m used to regular ups and downs but usually it only takes me a few days to get … Read more
Following on from last week’s theme of acceptance I want to explore the concept of hope. I believe that it is possible to reach an acceptance of a long term debilitating illness whilst retaining hope that one day your health and quality of life will improve significantly. Hope and acceptance are not mutually exclusive. In … Read more
