I have been reading back through my diary for February, and as I did for the previous month, here's a list of statements and thoughts about my progress:
-paying attention to my body's natural circadian rhythms really helps me with my pacing
-buying my food shopping online is a much more effective use of time and energy than having to drag myself around a supermarket (this isn't even possible!)
-I have started to look at little things in my life differently; I feel I am coming to a state of acceptance with my current state of health and how it effects my life on a daily basis
-”baby steps” forward are still steps forward
-it still surprises me how my energy levels are so directly connected to the type and amounts of food I eat, and also the frequency I eat. I am planning to look at this in more detail in the coming weeks.
-after trying many many recovery techniques, I have found that pacing is the only technique that truly has any benefit for me, and in which I can see a marked difference in my energy levels, however incremental they may be.
-Taking a St John's Wort complex has had a positive effect on lessening my depressive moodswings. I still get them, but they are not as severe and don't last as long.
-I still get frustrated that I can't live my life the way I did previously, but I do think that in a lot of ways this is a good thing.
-Through mindful meditation and regular rest periods throughout the day, I am learning to live more in my mind and less in my body. I am also able to recognise the signs of exhaustion more easily, and am able to do something about this without my symptoms getting too bad too quickly.
-I am learning to focus on the things I am able to do-however small-rather than the things I can no longer do, or perhaps won't be able to for a while
-At night I have lots of dreams about moving away from my old way of life or my old way of thinking. It is obvious that my subconscious is trying to tell me something.
-Being in unfamiliar places (e.g anywhere that is not my home or my mum's house) makes me extremely severely fatigued, sick, shaky and nauseous extremely quickly. A reminder that I am not recovering as quickly as I sometimes think I am.
-I have made a lot of friends in the creative community who are living with similar conditions. I find this comforting and it's good to know there are other people out there with similar interests who know exactly what I'm going through on a daily basis.
-On a good day I can do 45 minutes activity before I have 15 minutes complete rest (no radio, tv etc). On a bad day the activity level dips to 10 minutes with an hour rest in between. Talk about a fluctuating illness!
-Drinking 4 pints of filtered water a day seems to boost my energy levels, lessen my nerve pains and has meant I have not had painkillers for 5 days in a row now.
I'll say again, these things aren't cures-what's right for me may not be right for you, but I hope that me writing about my own personal journey of recovery will at least help and inspire you and others in recovery.
Jen x :)
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Sunday, 4 March 2012
CFS Progress Review: February 2012
I have been reading back through my diary for February, and as I did for the previous month, here's a list of statements and thoughts about my progress:
-paying attention to my body's natural circadian rhythms really helps me with my pacing
-buying my food shopping online is a much more effective use of time and energy than having to drag myself around a supermarket (this isn't even possible!)
-I have started to look at little things in my life differently; I feel I am coming to a state of acceptance with my current state of health and how it effects my life on a daily basis
-”baby steps” forward are still steps forward
-it still surprises me how my energy levels are so directly connected to the type and amounts of food I eat, and also the frequency I eat. I am planning to look at this in more detail in the coming weeks.
-after trying many many recovery techniques, I have found that pacing is the only technique that truly has any benefit for me, and in which I can see a marked difference in my energy levels, however incremental they may be.
-Taking a St John's Wort complex has had a positive effect on lessening my depressive moodswings. I still get them, but they are not as severe and don't last as long.
-I still get frustrated that I can't live my life the way I did previously, but I do think that in a lot of ways this is a good thing.
-Through mindful meditation and regular rest periods throughout the day, I am learning to live more in my mind and less in my body. I am also able to recognise the signs of exhaustion more easily, and am able to do something about this without my symptoms getting too bad too quickly.
-I am learning to focus on the things I am able to do-however small-rather than the things I can no longer do, or perhaps won't be able to for a while
-At night I have lots of dreams about moving away from my old way of life or my old way of thinking. It is obvious that my subconscious is trying to tell me something.
-Being in unfamiliar places (e.g anywhere that is not my home or my mum's house) makes me extremely severely fatigued, sick, shaky and nauseous extremely quickly. A reminder that I am not recovering as quickly as I sometimes think I am.
-I have made a lot of friends in the creative community who are living with similar conditions. I find this comforting and it's good to know there are other people out there with similar interests who know exactly what I'm going through on a daily basis.
-On a good day I can do 45 minutes activity before I have 15 minutes complete rest (no radio, tv etc). On a bad day the activity level dips to 10 minutes with an hour rest in between. Talk about a fluctuating illness!
-Drinking 4 pints of filtered water a day seems to boost my energy levels, lessen my nerve pains and has meant I have not had painkillers for 5 days in a row now.
I'll say again, these things aren't cures-what's right for me may not be right for you, but I hope that me writing about my own personal journey of recovery will at least help and inspire you and others in recovery.
Jen x :)
-paying attention to my body's natural circadian rhythms really helps me with my pacing
-buying my food shopping online is a much more effective use of time and energy than having to drag myself around a supermarket (this isn't even possible!)
-I have started to look at little things in my life differently; I feel I am coming to a state of acceptance with my current state of health and how it effects my life on a daily basis
-”baby steps” forward are still steps forward
-it still surprises me how my energy levels are so directly connected to the type and amounts of food I eat, and also the frequency I eat. I am planning to look at this in more detail in the coming weeks.
-after trying many many recovery techniques, I have found that pacing is the only technique that truly has any benefit for me, and in which I can see a marked difference in my energy levels, however incremental they may be.
-Taking a St John's Wort complex has had a positive effect on lessening my depressive moodswings. I still get them, but they are not as severe and don't last as long.
-I still get frustrated that I can't live my life the way I did previously, but I do think that in a lot of ways this is a good thing.
-Through mindful meditation and regular rest periods throughout the day, I am learning to live more in my mind and less in my body. I am also able to recognise the signs of exhaustion more easily, and am able to do something about this without my symptoms getting too bad too quickly.
-I am learning to focus on the things I am able to do-however small-rather than the things I can no longer do, or perhaps won't be able to for a while
-At night I have lots of dreams about moving away from my old way of life or my old way of thinking. It is obvious that my subconscious is trying to tell me something.
-Being in unfamiliar places (e.g anywhere that is not my home or my mum's house) makes me extremely severely fatigued, sick, shaky and nauseous extremely quickly. A reminder that I am not recovering as quickly as I sometimes think I am.
-I have made a lot of friends in the creative community who are living with similar conditions. I find this comforting and it's good to know there are other people out there with similar interests who know exactly what I'm going through on a daily basis.
-On a good day I can do 45 minutes activity before I have 15 minutes complete rest (no radio, tv etc). On a bad day the activity level dips to 10 minutes with an hour rest in between. Talk about a fluctuating illness!
-Drinking 4 pints of filtered water a day seems to boost my energy levels, lessen my nerve pains and has meant I have not had painkillers for 5 days in a row now.
I'll say again, these things aren't cures-what's right for me may not be right for you, but I hope that me writing about my own personal journey of recovery will at least help and inspire you and others in recovery.
Jen x :)
3 comments:
What do I do that you do Caroline? I'm interested to know if we have similar approaches to our recovery?
ReplyDeleteI thought I had left a reply! It is great to see you review everything, these monthly reviews are great I think because you can look back and reflect on things. It is amazing how it helps x
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Great post, comforting to know you do what I do!
ReplyDeleteWhat do I do that you do Caroline? I'm interested to know if we have similar approaches to our recovery?
ReplyDeleteI thought I had left a reply! It is great to see you review everything, these monthly reviews are great I think because you can look back and reflect on things. It is amazing how it helps x
ReplyDelete