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What I mean when I say ‘I’m Fine’
“How are you?” “Oh yeah, I’m good, thank you. I’m doing just fine.” A common, every day exchange between two people. It may be someone you know well, or someone you’ve just met. Telling people you’re ‘fine’ is so common nowadays that I don’t think any of us know what it really means. Whenever people ask me how I am, there is a lot that happens in my mind. How honest should I be today? If I did answer that question honestly, can I talk about it openly without crying (usually no)? Would they understand, or even care? Can I actually put into words how I’m feeling right now? How…
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Why is pacing so gosh darn difficult?
If you didn’t know, pacing is the single, most important way of managing your symptoms when you have a chronic illness like Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. It involves spreading high-energy activities over a long period of time, to stop your body over-exerting and inducing those horrible, energy limiting symptoms. ‘High energy’ is defined differently from person to person, depending on the severity of their condition. For me it is anything that involves standing up, but for someone with a more severe condition this could be as small as processing daylight. It takes a lot of planning, and a lot of practice, to be really efficient at it. However I do know people…
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How to manage an energy crash
I’ve been trying and failing to write this afternoon. Started things, stopping half way through, taking breaks to stare off into the distance, starting again. Nothing really seemed to be working. The problem I am having is that I am in the midst of an energy crash, and I just do not have the mental capacity to form sentences and write. I love to write, but I do need some sort of energy to be able to do it. I can’t just fumble through it – no one wants to read a half-assed post from someone who is struggling to keep their eyes open. While I sat there, resting in…
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Post Exertional Malaise and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS)
Post Exertional Malaise (or PEM) is one of the most common symptoms of many chronic illnesses, and is one of the defining symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). This very limiting symptom is something that likes to rear its ugly head even when you think you’ve been so careful. And can come in many forms – sometimes I don’t even realise it’s what I am experiencing until my husband reminds me I have overdone it and what I am experiencing is the result of that. The dreaded PEM. As it’s such an important part of my life with ME/CFS, I thought it was high time I shared a bit more about…
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Tips to help you sleep better
If you’re a spoonie like me (or even if you’re not) sleep is very important. It’s the time of the day your body recovers and rests ready for the next day. So when you struggle with sleep, it’s good to know the things you can do to sleep better. Due to ME/CFS, I spend my whole day feeling exhausted, achey and basically like I need a week of sleep. It’s very sacred to me, and bedtime has quickly become my favourite time of the day, because it’s the time I truly get relief from my symptoms. But being tired all the time doesn’t mean that sleep comes easily. In fact,…
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5 things I’ve learned from yoga
Living with ME/CFS comes with a long list of trials and challenges to deal with on a daily basis. Among them is the inability to exercise normally. Unfortunately, along with the sheer exhaustion it brings, another symptom is post exertional malaise. Put simply, the worsening of symptoms due to physical activity. For me, I find it quite difficult to predict, but I know one thing that causes it every time – exercise. Going for a run (or even a walk), doing Zumba, tennis, literally any form of cardio is enough to make me completely unable to function the next day. My body just shuts down, even moving takes too much…
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Living with a Chronic Illness, Every Day.
Looking through past blog posts I realised that I’ve talked quite a lot about life with mental illness, but I haven’t really focused that much on the other evil in my life: my chronic illness. I was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) over 3 years ago now, and it’s been a rollercoaster ride ever since. There are so many new things to get used to, treatments to try, lifestyle changes to make. It’s something that you just can’t prepare for. I do count myself as very fortunate, because I know so many other sufferers of ME who aren’t able to work at all, and many who are bed bound. But…
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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis symptoms that aren’t as well known
I was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) nearly 10 years ago and there are still symptoms that arise that aren’t expected to this day. Each day is a learning curve with new and wonderful things to deal with (sense the sarcasm). It’s more than just all encompassing fatigue – in fact this causes many problems of its own. That is why it can be such a destructive disorder, particularly for those on the severe end of the spectrum. Keep reading to explore some of the more unusual and unexpected symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis – and let me know in the comments which one was the most surprising! Please note this…
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Self-care on an energy budget.
I love reading about self-care and the different things people do to help look after their minds, bodies and souls. I always leave feeling full to the brim with new ideas, over flowing with excitement about all the new fun and calming things I am going to do for myself. And then, I never do them. The fact of the matter is, as much as I love colouring, writing, reading, walking, dancing, socialising and all the other things people recommend, I rarely ever have the energy for them. I have so many plans in my head and none of them come to fruition. It’s a shame really, because when I…
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My Journey to Fitness: Part 5
My apologies for the delay in posting this, my fifth installment of the Journey to Fitness series. In all honesty, I’ve been putting this off because I’ve not had a great month. My mental health hasn’t been great, I’m completely exhausted, and I have been feeling extremely NOT positive about my body. This whole journey is not meant to be about getting thin and losing weight. It’s supposed to be about loving and appreciating my body no matter what it looks like, and encouraging others to feel the same way. But with the weather getting warmer, and being too tired to actually exercise, as well as feeling generally down, it’s…
