Top tips for coping with CFS
Posted on March 24, 2008
Filed Under CFS |
In my experience, chronic fatigue syndrome can have a devastating effect on your life. When the illness first hits you, you can be so overwhelmed with the sheer number of symptoms that it leaves you feeling totally helpless and vulnerable. Unless you have a good doctor who recognises early on what you’re suffering from and gives you the correct advice, you can end up making yourself worse. Here are some tips that might help you or someone you know who is suffering from CFS.
1) Pace yourself. This list isn’t in any particular order, but I’ll begin with what I believe to be the most important factor in coping with CFS. Early on, during those first few weeks when I didn’t know what was wrong with me, I unwittingly broke one of the golden rules of the illness: don’t overdo it. This might sound like a no-brainer, but with CFS it’s particularly relevant. Sufferers have to deal with something called post-exertional malaise, which basically means that any activity, whether physical or mental, will have a delayed pay-off hours or sometimes even days afterwards. Keep over-doing it and you’ll cause a relapse. The trick is to do only three-quarters of what you feel you’re capable of doing, so you can put that little extra in the bank. Need to go out in a couple of days? Expend as little energy as possible beforehand, so your body is able to cope.
The same thing goes for the household chores. Don’t try and do it all at once. If it’s not possible to get other people to lend a helping hand, then take things easy. Better that your home gets a little dusty than you push yourself over the edge and up bed-bound for weeks. When you need to cook, make enough so that you can store some of it in the freezer, saving yourself time and energy in the future. Put a stool in the kitchen so you don’t have to stand in front of the oven. Anything you can do to ease the workload will help towards your recovery.
2) Eat a healthy diet. Again, another apparent no-brainer. But CFS sufferers often have symptoms very similar to those of irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. Cutting out all the rubbish from your diet can have a direct effect on the way you feel. Many CFS sufferers find that cutting out dairy products and foods containing wheat or gluten substantially improves their symptoms. Another reason for eating a healthy diet is that it supports your body’s already-weakened immune system. The more nutrients you eat, the less work your body has to do in order to heal itself. Taking high-quality nutritional supplements is also a good idea.
3) Learn to say no. A major problem for people with CFS is a lack of understanding from others. Sometimes you might not actually look very sick, when in fact you’re experiencing a whole load of unpleasant symptoms. This often leads people to assume that you’re not as sick as you say you are, or even worse to try and cajole you into doing things that you know will cause you considerable discomfort. Only you know what you can and can’t do. Don’t let well-meaning friends and family members inhibit your recovery. If they call on the phone and you’re really not able to hold a conversation, don’t be afraid to tell them. Explain you’re not feeling well and promise to call back later. If you get an invite to an important function, don’t worry about turning it down. Just explain gently what your limitations are, and if they’re a true friend they’ll understand.
4) Avoid stress. Even relatively low levels of stress can lead to a substantial worsening of symptoms. You need try and cut out any unnecessary factors in your life which are causing you to worry. Don’t let any unresolved issues boil away under the surface. If you feel up to it, try to meditate regularly, even if it’s just a couple of minutes a day. Meditation has been shown to have significant beneficial effects on the body.
5) Don’t fester indoors. For the bed-bound, this isn’t an option. But the moderately-affected should be careful not to end up withdrawing into themselves. This might seem at odds with some of my former points, but it’s not. Although you mustn’t over-exert yourself, you should try and take advantage of any window of opportunity, whilst being careful that you stay well within your limitations. Getting outside and doing something, no matter how trivial, can provide an important psychological boost. Many CFS sufferers simply don’t have a social life, and so any activity which adds a sense of normality to their lives can be extremely beneficial.
6) Take each day as it comes. CFS is an unpredictable illness, for which there is currently no cure. Some people recover relatively quickly, within a year or so. Others go on to live with it for the rest of their lives. There really is no way of telling when you might recover, if ever. This might seem a daunting and depressing prospect for the newly-diagnosed patient. But there’s nothing to be gained to from trying to kid yourself that you’ll be recovered by such-and-such a date. The likelihood is you’ll only be setting yourself up for a disappointment.
This doesn’t mean that you should just give up on life and take a defeatist “what’s the point” attitude. Instead, think of your journey to recovery as a winding road, with many twists and turns. Some days, you might find yourself back where you started. Other days, you might find yourself within sight of the finish. Through it all, just accept each new day and what it brings you. Stay positive, and remind yourself that there are always other people who are worse-off than you.
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