Feeling Overwhelmed? A Recipe for a Flare-Up of CFS, Fibro, Lyme and Fatigue

We are back from a fantastic trip to California, driving down the coast from San Francisco on US 1 to Pismo Beach for a Martha Beck life coaching conference.  We saw beautiful scenery and wildlife and enjoyed some down time just enjoying God's creation.  Feeling very relaxed upon our return. Then...the list of things I "needed" to do kept piling up.  Grocery store, errands, laundry, study and even exercise were making me feel stressed out - gotta do this, gotta do that, in an effort to catch up.  When I get this way, I know I've crossed the line when my eyes start to twitch.  My body is trying to tell me, chill out!  But instead I go over in my head all the things I have to do.  This is a recipe for a flare-up of CFS, fibro, Lyme or just overdoing in general.  Going full-tilt, obsessing, never works for me. 

Do You Want To Get Well? Part II Hope for people with CFS, fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions

Do you believe the statement by your doctor, "You will always have this condition?"  Or can you answer these four questions:

1.  Is this statement true?

2.  Can you be absolutely certain that it is true?

3.  How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

4.  Who would you be without that thought?

These are the questions posed in the Work of Byron Katie.  Ask yourself these questions and see if you can't turn around your thinking just a little..Who would you be without the thought, "I am sick?"

Do You Want To Get Well? Hope for those with CFS, fibromyalgia, and other chronic conditions

Did you at one time have doctor or doctors tell you that your condition will be chronic and that, basically, you will never get well?  That is was happened to me back in 1984 when my internist told me he had just read about a condition called, Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus Syndrome, and that is what he thought this mysterious illness was...No cure, no easy fix, just live with it.  I decided that I would find out all I could about this condition and work on making my immune system as strong as possible to keep the virus dormant.  I paced myself, took a nap everyday, ate healthy food, took supplements.  That is how I lived until about a year and a half ago.

I read a book by Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D, called "Coyote Wisdom" and it changed the way I thought about the illness.  There were multiple stories of people in the book who used what had meaning to them to get well or at least change their thinking about their condition.  I decided that I did not have to believe what the doctor(s) said and that I had to believe that I would get well.  Your belief becomes your biology.  I would change the belief that was limiting me.  I would still do all I was doing to stay healthy, but I would also go try some things I thought I couldn't do.  I would push myself a little when reluctant to push myself a little.  And it worked.  I felt stronger and healthier.  I let my body guide me, instead of blindly following what the practitioners were telling me. (see work by Byron Katie).  Granted, I still do all the things I was doing before to stay healthy, I just changed my thinking.

Walking for CFS, Fibromyalgia, Lyme Disease and other Chronic Conditions

When you have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or other chronic condition involving fatigue, the last thing you might want to do is go for a walk.  But for me that was the easiest way back from feeling weak and sick.  I actually started by walking up and down in front of my house, as ridiculous as that sounds, because I was afraid of going too far.  I started slow and then slowly went farther and farther by mailboxes on the street.  Walking is the easiest on your joints and it takes no extra equipment other than a good pair of athletic shoes.  With each extension of distance, I felt a little better and more encouraged about getting well. 

A Healthy Option - Have A Smoothie!

There have been times during a flare of CFS that I did not feel like eating, but I knew had to build my strength back up.  Back in the 1980's when I was in the worst of the flare-ups, I lost a lot of weight and what I turned to was Ensure to take in some calories and nutrition.  Since then, I have discovered smoothies.  There are hundreds of recipes out there for smoothies - all you have to do is look on the intranet.  This is what works for me - I make up my own recipe based on what I have available and what appeals to me.