Glimpse into my atricle contribution for Your Zen Life!....ME/CFS International Awareness Day - May 12th

I wrote an article for International Awareness Day for the Your Zen Life website, and it was published last week! If you are interested in reading it, it is on the website at http://www.yourzenlife.com/post/me-cfs-international-awareness-day-may-12th, or read below.

Glimpse into things to do when your body doesn't want to play ball -Wellness Wednesday week 15

A common question I see popping up in forums and groups for people with chronic health issues is "how do I stop myself from going crazy with boredom/frustration/loneliness/anger/sadness?" It can be a problematic issue, and it is a catch 22 situation. You feel so unwell because your body is sick, so you inevitably miss out on more and more in terms of socialisation, work, chores, physical exercise and activities; normal life! So then in resting your body and trying to heal, you find yourself feeling lonely and frustrated, which then makes you feel worse. It is a vicious circle. The best thing for your body while it heals is to find things to do that can keep your soul happy, your mind active and your body moving within its limits. These are some of the things that I have found to be effective. I will post 5 today, and another 5 on another Wellness Wednesday. 

1. Find a hobby: Take this opportunity to turn a bad situation into a good one; do something that you haven't had chance to do before. For me, I have dived into paper craft, scrapbooking, memory keeping and photography in a big way, and I am loving it! Find something that is within your body's current physical capability (for example, scrapbooking is great because you can sit in a comfy chair or even lie down with a tray table across your lap and relax, but still be doing something with your hands and mind). I love to listen to audiobooks because I am an avid reader, but find physically reading too taxing most of the time (Audible is an awesome site for affordable, online audiobooks). Try painting, or decorate a mug or a pillow, do some cross stitch, play chess with a friend, play a gentle instrument, learn the rules and strategies of a sport on tv such as cricket or the formula 1, try your hand at writing, sewing, or gentle gardening. 

Creating a crafty mess while scrapbooking....

Glimpse into body image with chronic conditions (i.e. wanting to look and feel great!) Wellness Wednesday week 15

Something that I do not see written about much in relation to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and other chronic illnesses, is body image and getting fit. Obviously, it is not the highest priority when you are struggling to gain a good quality of life, so it doesn't feature so much in articles or forums. However, I feel that it is an important factor to consider. When you lose control over your body and it is not functioning well, it adds to the frustration and sadness when you realise that you can not even work towards making it do and look like you want.

Glimpse into Motivational Monday - week 11 2014

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting."

 

If you are stuck in bed most of the time like I am at the moment, this is especially poignant. It applies to everyone though. Keep smiling, keep positive, don't give up. Cry and complain, because that is healthy too, but at the end of the day, holding onto the faith that things will get better is what will get you through. Make the most of what you can do, and the people who are around you, and keep going.

 

 

Glimpse into the New Year

Today is New Year's Day. A day typically dedicated to reflection and statements of intentions. Every New Year for the past 3 years, I have made New Year's resolutions. These have all revolved around my health and improving its state of deterioration, which had begun to speed up between 2008 and 2010. Each year, I felt more determined than the previous to work harder at finding out what was wrong with me, how to fix it, and go about doing so. And at the conclusion of each year, I was left feeling varying levels of failure because of these resolutions. (Although, 2013 has probably revealed a lot more potential than other years, even if it has been one of the worst for my body.) So this year, as 2013 began to wrap up, and 2014 loomed closer, I decided to not make a resolution. I felt I did not want the self imposed pressure, when I already know that I am doing my best to improve my health. More specifically, I didn't want that added feeling of failure when reflecting on previous resolutions, when my health battles are frustrating enough.

However, on the day of New Year's Eve, as I read people's statements, and listened to them explore their purpose and decisions, I began to think that maybe I do need a New Year's Resolution. After all, it is but a goal, and I constantly have small, medium and large goals in my life, which all of you with chronic health problems will understand too well. So after mulling over what I need to improve or appreciate or stop doing or start doing, I came to this conclusion. In 2014, I will just be.

          ~ Let go. Just be. ~

I am constantly over thinking things in my head, partly due to having too much time to over think, partly due to the frustrating dead-end feeling that comes with chronic illness. I find myself unnecessarily worrying, or unnecessarily being frustrated or saddened by some one's actions, or building something up and then being unnecessarily disappointed when it doesn't happen that way. Chronic illnesses takes what you thought was normal, and throws it up in the air and causes it to land in a million different directions and angles. I have said it before and I will say it again; we need to allow ourselves to step out from the dark cloud that chronic illness is, and enjoy what we do have. Live in the moment. We don't get to do this "life" thing twice (as far as we know!), and it seems ridiculous to let it slip past us, while we let illness tarnish our thoughts, alter our plans and change our happiness. Obviously, chronic illness comes in all shapes and sizes, and inevitably our thoughts, plans and happiness will be effected. Also, chronic illness requires determination, motivation, strength and perseverance to battle, so I am not saying we can just sit back and hope all will go the way we would like.
However, somehow, in the blur of pain, confusion, frustration, and sickness, we need to find a way to see the good in a moment, not just the discomfort. In 2014, I need to, we need to, just be.
           Happy New Year!

Glimpse into brain fog

Something that a lot of people ask me about or don't understand, is the feeling of "brain fog", which is so prevalent in conditions like Myalgic Encephalmyeltis. Obviously, brain fog is not a scientific term, but it so clearly depicts the feeling.

                                                                  Pic taken from here