Life can start to seem meaningless when your ability to achieve your goals is cruelly snatched away from you by chronic illness. We all need a sense of achievement and when viewed in terms of our pre-illness life, the limitations of our health can make that all seem impossible. One way to work towards a … Read more
I once met a spiritual healer who claimed that ME/CFS was an illness of people who aren’t able to be themselves. He claimed it was caused by people forcing themselves to fit a mould set by society or by others expectations, that wasn’t in keeping with who they really are. Any suggestion that my illness … Read more
This time of year can often make us feel even more pressured by the expectations involved in living a ‘normal’ life. It’s a time that should be all about loving and giving, but our exhaustion can leave us feeling that we have nothing left to give. However, I believe that a little bit of … Read more
A very important aspect of living a happy life despite a chronic illness, is to challenge any negative ways that you think about the illness and how it affects you. Quite simply it’s about choosing to think positively. Obviously, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Nobody can be positive all of the time, sometimes … Read more
If I had to specify one thing that got me over this illness the first time, I would say it was learning how to approach life with relaxed effortlessness. For me, there is an awful lot of meaning contained in those two words so I’ll break it down a bit. Not forcing or exerting. … Read more
Here are another couple of breathing and meditation practices taken from my book. Deep breathing is the foundation stone for relaxation and can be a very useful skill to employ at times of stress and anxiety. It is also the basis for more complex breathing exercises such at the complete breath and rhythmic breathing which … 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
It’s hard to understand the value of health until it’s lost so when it is, it can be hard to imagine what role gratitude has to play. But for me gratitude plays a really important role in choosing to be happy despite having a long term illness. Happiness isn’t about what life throws at us; … Read more
Meditation is part of my daily routine, a part that I’m rarely tempted to miss because of the ways I believe it helps me and because I always feel better afterwards. I believe that there are three levels of benefit from meditation. 1. Relaxation and stabilising the nervous system The first and most immediate benefit of … Read more
I first looked into aromatherapy during my first illness. Sceptical but clutching at straws I was amazed by how effective it was at providing some emotional relief when dealing with the difficult emotional impact of this illness. It also provided me with a sense of indulgence, an opportunity to treat myself, a sensual pleasure when many other pleasures were … Read more
