Sometimes I imagine my situation is similar to that of an addict in recovery; every day I have to work through my steps of wellness or I will crash. It can be exhausting (which I know sounds like an oxymoron!) Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just be able to live? And this is the goal that I focus on every day. I hope that by being honest with you that this programme is not a quick fix, I am encouraging you to stick with your own recovery journey, even when the road is bumpy.
I continue to work my way through the sessions. The most impressive part of the programme is the broad range of subjects it covers; I feel like every possible cause of ‘my’ CFS is being investigated. Over the last few weeks I have looked at pain management, belief systems, nutrition and creating a harmonious space. Each session has pushed me to look deep into my lifestyle and to challenge myself to make the necessary changes.
Session 17 is on pain management. Pain is not a major problem for me. (I used to get really bad headaches but they have improved a lot of over the last couple of years.) But if pain is a significant part of your illness, this session has sound advice for improving your pain levels.
The next session is on beliefs. I have done work on this area before but that doesn’t mean I’ve got it nailed yet! I work on this every day (just like the addict who is working through their steps on a daily basis). The first step is to buy into the fact that recovery is possible; for me this is the foundation to everything I do as I move towards full recovery.
But how many times are you swayed on this belief? When the going is tough I find that I can easily end up in a cycle of limiting beliefs, sometimes without even realising. A couple of rough days and my belief in recovery can be rocked to the core.
And the external influences can be just as damaging: the internet and social networking sites in particular, can perpetuate the belief that recovery is not possible. But people DO recover from CFS and there is no reason why we can’t join them.
I have found that ending my daily journal session with self coaching on what I CAN do; affirmations, hypnotherapy, and not talking about symptoms, (see last post) reinforce my belief in recovery.
The programme then moves on to nutrition. Some of you may remember that I have already done extensive work on nutrition with another clinic. But in my desire to be as open as possible to find the final pieces of my wellness jigsaw, I approached this session with the same rigour as the others. I have also pulled together my nutrition ‘file’ and sent it off to a nutritionist from the programme to review. Meanwhile I am following a sensible eating plan and I take some basic supplements.
Next is the session on creating a harmonious space. Oh, this session sang to me! We are in the middle of turning our apartment into a ‘palace’. We have lived here for about 4 years but we were renting it and all the furniture was our landlords, it was all tasteful but it was not our taste. But the thought of moving or making changes was just too much and so for 4 years we ended up just making do. Then about 6 months ago we decided I was well enough to address our living situation and I started looking for a new apartment. But I couldn’t find anything that I liked as much as ours – with its fabulous location overlooking the canal – and I realised that it just needed some TLC. So we have bought the apartment and we are changing EVERYTHING. We are about a third of the way through the project and the difference the change is already having on me is incredible; I really underestimated the impact of having a space I love. (As I sit on my new purple chenille sofa with my lap top I can easily visualise myself as a successful writer!)
There is also some interesting information on Electromagnetic fields in this session, so I am currently making changes around the apartment to minimise the impact of these EMFs.
So, my recovery friends, I leave you with this: the answers are there, we just need to keep looking for them. Yes, the magic wand would be lovely, but just in case that never arrives, I will carry on diligently working my wellness steps knowing that I am making progress.
And as my husband always says to me: ‘if we plotted your recovery on a graph, (he has an analyst mind!) the trend of your energy line would be moving upwards’. Yes, as a line on a graph I am rocking!
You can always find me at Sofa and the City if you want to read more from me…x
