What an
amazing day! I am putting the finishing touches on my final project for my
Human Resource Management class, joined the local Fibromyalgia support group
for an afternoon of learning and friendship and then enjoyed a beautiful evening
at the park with my daughter and my best friend. While the average person might
not see this as a “busy day”, those of us who deal with pain and fatigue fight
a daily battle to accomplish the things that must be done and those things that
we want to do. I will start by saying that I am flaring and I apologize in advance if this sounds a bit disjointed or less eloquent than many of my other posts. I dedicate this post to my Fibro Fog.
Today at the
support group we talked about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the way that it impacts
the lives of those who struggle with it. Over the years I have managed to find
ways to cope with the pain of my Fibromyalgia but the fatigue and brain fog are
often more debilitating than the pain itself. So many times my best friend has
told me when we are out that she can see my energy level just bottom out
despite my attempts to appear perky and jovial. I will usually admit that it’s
like my body is finally giving up and forcing me to stop even when I don’t want
to.
Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome is pretty much as it sounds – the feeling of constant
fatigue. These symptoms are often brought on by simple, everyday activities and
can range from mildly tiring to complete and utter exhaustion that actually
inhibits physical activity. Characterized
by severe insomnia and/or un-refreshing sleep, chronic fatigue also tends to
increase the frequency and severity of the headaches, muscle and joint pain,
and a general feeling of illness. These
symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to months on end and frequently are
the cause of Fibro flares, increase depression, and other physical and
psychological symptoms.
As I mentioned
the brain fog, or impaired memory and ability to form cognitive thoughts, is
the most frustrating symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome. Because I work in a professional field that
requires acute attention to detail, I find that the stress associated with my
responsibilities cause extreme mental fatigue that actually carries over to my
physical abilities. To combat this and
keep it from a affecting my abilities to function, I plan mental breaks in my
day in which I physically leave my desk, go outside, and take a few moments to
breathe deeply and clear my mind and allow myself and to relax. By doing this, I am able to focus more
clearly on the financials that I deal with on a daily basis and can offer my
coworkers better advice because I am in a better frame of mind.
Chronic
fatigue is not just physical – it can severely impair mental abilities
too. The best way to combat the effects
of chronic fatigue is to get sufficient sleep, learn to pace your activities,
and know that it is OK to stop and take a nap, or read a book, or just enjoy
the sunset with the mug of soothing tea.
I know that this is hard to do because I will fight the mentality of
needing to “keep up with my peers” and be the overactive, hardworking, party on
the weekend, soccer mom that many of my friends are. Let’s face it friends, being us as
fibromyalgia fighters, is hard enough – why should we make it any harder by
trying to be someone else. Just thinking
about it makes me tired. It has been a
long day, and I am going to sign off by saying: Be Happy, Be Healthy – and don’t
let the fatigue get you down!
Rachel
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