Ten tips for surviving Chronic Fatigue or ME

We call all feel tired after a long day at work.  For some people a good nights sleep doesn’t refresh them and they end up feeling tired all the time.  They may then receive a diagnosis from their GP of Chronic Fatigue or ME.  So if you know anyone who has received this diagnosis here are some tips:

  1. Accept – make peace with your current limitations; it may require you to adjust your lifestyle and to get others to help care for you.
  2. Look externally – get support from others and see a doctor or a therapist.
  3. Fix your diet – we all know the importance of a healthy diet, but it is paramount when you are tired and take you may require supplements.
  4. Look within – meditate and look within to find the lessons from your current situation and illness.
  5. Examine the past – look for unresolved issues, traumas or behavioural patterns that aren’t serving you well.
  6. Grieve – spend time grieving over any past hurts and broken dreams and then let them go.
  7. Get back into the world – when you have the energy, get out and meet people or do some volunteer work.
  8. Make changes – introduce new behaviours, think positively and keep a gratitude diary.
  9. Look into the future – set goals for where you want to be in 10 years time, find your passion and take small steps to get there.
  10. Keep learning – read about what may help your condition and make small changes to your daily routine.

Related Posts

  • Foam Rolling Guide – Part 2

    In Part 1 I introduced the concept of foam rolling and explained what it is.  In part 2 I want to give you my tips and techniques. How long should you foam roll? For general maintenance, each muscle should be focused on for up to 2 minutes at a time.  I know many of my readers are highly educated and now there are over 600 muscle in the body – don’t worry you don’t need to foam roll them all!  You focus on the ones that feel tight and in need of the foam rolling. How to use a foam roller if you hunch over your desk all day? To open up your chest you can lay on the foam roller so it is underneath your spine – for about 10 minutes and this will open up your back & chest. Any more tips? You can essentially foam roll any part of your body.  You just start and place with the movement, speed and pressure to see what works for you.  But don’t expect it to feel comfortable – those tender spots are the ones that need the help most.  I would suggest you start off slowly and build up time, speed and pressure slowly. The outside of the thighs (or IT bands) are an area of tightness for runners and cyclists and its highly accessible on a foam roller.  The larger muscles in the legs, quads (front of thighs), hamstrings (back of thighs), calf musles are very easy to foam roll.  

  • How can Sports Massage help Runners?

    I may be biased but I believe sports massage should be part of every runner's training program.  Sports massage offers runners three benefits

    • Performance enhancement
    • Injury Prevention
    • Injury Rehabilitation
    Performance enhancement Tight muscles can have poor circulation and get inhibited.  Inflexibility linked to muscle tightness can problems with movement patters and/or lack of strength, which can prohibit efficient training and performance. Injury Prevention Tightness can be a cause of muscle strains.  Chronic tightness can cause inflammation resulting in
    • Back and shoulder problems
    • ITB syndrome
    • Shin splints
    • Achilles problems
    • Plantar fasciitis
    Injury Rehabilitation Scar tissue which will develop as the injured muscle heals.  Scar tissue causes pain and limits a runners range for motion.  When sports massage is teamed with other medical intervention, it provides a faster recovery by breaking down scar tissue.  

  • If you suffer from headaches, you need to read this…

    I am sure everyone knows that everyone needs to reduce their salt intake.  This message from the government has been the cornerstone of their public health campaign for a number of years.  It has resulted in food manufacturers producing "reduced salt" ranges of goods and reducing the amount of salt in our favorite brands. We all know that too much salt in our diet raises our blood pressure which in turn can lead to heart disease, stokes and heart attacks.  New research has shown that when people reduce their salt intake, their is a 31% reduction in the number of them suffering headaches.  Interesting researches noted, that the differences between healthy and unhealthy diets had no significant effect on headaches. Importantly the reduction in headaches was the same in people with high blood pressure as normal blood pressure. (see full article http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/12/e006671.full) It is estimated that just under half off all adults suffer from regular headaches, if you are one of them, maybe its time to consider the levels of salt in your diet. Anyone looking for more information on the impact of salt in their diet should visit http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/index.html a government backed website.