Tags
CFS, goals and strategy, laundry, manage stress, post exertional malaise, recovery, rest, results
This morning awoke feeling clear and, dare I say, normal. Able to do my 5min yoga routine and even a smidgen of a meditation.
It struck me how different this feels and that I have not felt this way for some few weeks. That I awoke not just from sleep this morning but from a month-long crash.
It is of course fantastic to feel this way! It certainly feels like I will be this way from now on, and I very much hope that I can sustain this level through December. I just have one big question for myself:
What got me out of the crash?
As much as possible I have been limiting my physical activities, and ranged from the 30’s to just above bedridden for much of the past two weeks. I’ve been giving myself breaks from mental activities and spreading out longer more stressful projects (like figuring out how I can be insured for 2015). <– by the way, I was able to find health insurance that I could afford that my practitioners would accept only just yesterday. Could lifting this heavy burden have helped to lift my crash?
More things I have resolved recently:
- kitchen and bathroom sinks unclogged
- backlog of dishes well on their way to being all washed
- made dent in laundry
- got through thanksgiving, able to contribute two dishes!
- digestive issues evening out
- signed some new contracts
- paid some bills
- Almost all christmas shopping done (online) and already delivered, ready to wrap
I know that my Post Exertional Malaise crashes are not psychosomatic, so I am not convinced that one can end a crash simply by resolution of stressful issues. However it does seem to support recovery to do so. I also did physical therapy on myself yesterday by stretching, and attempting to release pressure points by holding them until they were no longer intensely painful (the arches of my feet, and back of my head at base of skull mostly). Did any of this contribute in a meaningful way to my apparent recovery?
Summary conclusion: I have a much better sense of how to keep crashing at bay than active things I can do to help recover from one. When they drag on for weeks, all the resting feels like it has no effect. No instant gratification here! Certainly difficult to ascertain what results from my actions. For now it must be good enough that I can recover, no matter how slowly.
I am for sure very grateful to feel so good today!