The second part to the CFS triangle is the mind. In other words, how do we think about our illness and our attitudes towards it, or life in general. This topic is far too vast for me to cover so I will highlight a few key things I personally struggle with and you may all agree.
I have put it into sections, this first one will focus on stress.
Then to follow I have written a post on depression and my personal journey, then a final post on happiness and goals.
Stress
Some of the top Chronic Fatigue specialists would argue stress is the first most important thing which stops the body from healing, therefore it is the first thing we need to be aware of and work on.
"There is an innate connection between mind and the body. Whatever you hold in your mind will be produced in the physical body. Any ill feeling or bitterness towards another person, intense passion, long-standing envy or corroding anxiety, fits of hot temper, all actually destroy the cells of the body and induce disease of the heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach etc. Worry and stress have caused nervous breakdowns and cancer." - Healing Mind. Healing Body - Debbie Shapiro
Our bodies living with a chronic illness are in a constant state of hyper alert. From the trauma and anxiety this illness brings to our bodies the nervous system can go into a state of hyper alert.
There is something called the fight/flight mode whereby if we were confronted by a lion our body would go into survival mode and our digestion, kidneys, immune system, memory all shut down so we can have all the energy available to fight off this lion and run away from it. This is a short period of acute intense stress but then your body would go back to normal.
Patients with CFS are in this state of chronic stress constantly as apposed to a healing state. We need our immune system to fight against infections, we need our digestive system to be working optimally to digest and absorb all the nutrients we feed ourselves in order to get energy to the cells. We want our memory to be working properly so we don't have brain fog all the time!!
An easy brief way to test if we are 'stressed' is if we are in room temperature and we put our hands next to our face they should be the same temperature. I suffer with really cold hands and feet, a classic sign my blood supply is compromised.
We are in a vicious circle, we became stressed in the first place because we were ill and now we can't get better because we are in a permanent state of stress!
I'm do worry and I'm very mindful about pushing my body too much, "If I go out tonight I will be ill tomorrow" or "Exam time will make me ill because it's so stressful and the stress will make me ill".
In those situations it's again about being kind to our bodies, yes go out tonight if you feel up to it, if you begin to feel unwell go home and whatever happens tomorrow we'll deal with it when it comes. There is nothing to be gained from trying to predict the future and worrying about it.
Relaxation/Meditation/Guided Visualisation
To try to release yourself from this state, I found relaxation or meditation really helpful. Your probably thinking "All I do all day is relax I have CFS" I don't mean relax and watch a DVD or read a book, I mean relax in a silent room, lying on the bed or the sofa with no stimulations.
To begin, close your eyes and become very aware of your breathing and your body, how it feels. Try to relax into the bed or sofa. Try to not let your mind wander, if it does bring it back to thinking about your body and your breathing. Don't try to control your breath in any way, let it be very natural. As you lay there you will notice your breath will naturally slow down and there can even be a pause between the in and out breath.
If you manage this for 30 minutes a day that is absolutely ideal because for those 30 minutes as your body is in a totally relaxed state and not focused on anything else, it has 30 minutes to heal. It has 30 minutes to catch up on working overtime. It is such a kind thing to do for your body.
I will admit i don't manage this everyday, I live in a busy, noisy house and it's not always possible. Don't be harsh with yourself, perhaps 10 minutes is all you can manage it is better than nothing.
I have a few relaxation CDs which I will sometimes put on and I can now become so relaxed, i will naturally fall asleep. It;s well worth buying one, wether it's guided visualisations or just soothing sounds of rain or waterfalls.
I hope this is of some help. Living in such a fast paced world I think we are slow to realise how destructive stress can be.
Let me know how you get on
Lots of love Becks xoxo
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