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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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5 Ways to Slow Down
Right now my life feels as though its going about a mile a minute. I have no where near enough time in the day, or week, or month, to do all the things I want to. And the stress of that it starting to take its toll. I really need to try to slow down, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. Lately I’ve been trying to keep up with a lot, because there’s so much that I want to be able to do. I want to be successful, and healthy. I want to be a good person, friend and girlfriend. I want to improve my blog, writing…
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Taking care of your mental health when you can’t go outside.
We’re going through a rather unusual time right now, one we never knew we’d face. Social isolation is not something we had ever imagined having to deal with, but it has come on so quickly that we hardly had time to prepare. I know I’m not the only one feeling quite anxious and uneasy about what is happening in our country (and the world) right now. There are so many unknowns coming that my mind barely knows how to make sense of it all. People are having to work from home, businesses are closing, we’re being told not to travel or gather in large groups. It feels like the world…
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The 12 Days of Christmas: Self-care edition.
Christmas is a crazy time of year. There is so much to do, so many people to see, presents to buy, parties to go to. The list goes on. And even though it’s meant to be about spending time with friends and family, and showing how much they mean to you, it’s also important that you take care of yourself. When life gets stressful, self-care tends to be pushed aside, but it’s still so important. So, to help you get through the holiday period this year I have compiled a self-care edition of the 12 days of Christmas. Just one thing to do each day over the holidays to help…
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My weekend away with Chronic Fatigue Sydrome
I had a pretty awesome weekend away last week. Not only did I get to see family members that I don’t get to see very often, but I got to attend the most beautiful wedding my of cousin Andrew – it was a magical day, it really was. In light of that I thought I would write a bit about what it’s like for someone like me, who suffers from CFS/M.E, to go away for a weekend like this, and how I plan for it (and recover from it). Side note: Andy and Ruth if you happen to read this, I was honoured to be at your wedding last week,…
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5 reasons you need to take a break for your wellbeing.
Take a break. It’s for your health. If you follow me on twitter you will have noticed that the last couple of weeks I have been feeling pretty rubbish. In fact, this last week I’ve not been able to blog at all, even on my days off, because I couldn’t get my brain in gear. I’ve been excessively tired, even more than usual, I’ve had a really bad cold, and my joints have been getting progressively more painful. On the plus side I have been sleeping better than I have in months! Firstly, my apologies for the lack of blog updates. I do usually pride myself on multiple posts a…
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: What does it really feel like?
Have you ever had a week that feels like it’s been non-stop, where you’ve struggled to come up for air? You get to Friday and your body and mind are so overwhelmed that you feel like you need to sleep the entire weekend just to be able to face Monday morning? Well, every day feels like that when you have chronic fatigue syndrome. Except that sleeping for a weekend isn’t going to help. In fact, sleeping for a year won’t even make a difference. Not time to read now? Pin it for later! What does Chronic Fatigue Syndrome really feel like? The best way I’ve ever been able to describe…
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5 Ways I Personally Manage My Depression
There are so many news articles, health websites and blog posts out there offering advice for those suffering with depression, and that’s great! In my experience though, I often find this advice to be generic and lacking in personal experience. So, as a change, I thought I’d share with you the things I do personally to manage my depression on a daily basis. I hope that these are helpful for you in your journey to better mental health, but it should be noted that it’s okay not to be okay. No time to read now? Pin it for later! 5 ways I personally manage my depression. Go outside. I find…
