About

Why I get to go on and on about ME/CFS stuff

 So…the short version is I’ve been living with ME/CFS since I was a teenager. I was lucky enough to have some good years where I had a life, then some ok years where I had a tired life. The last decade or so the energy packets have been getting less and less and I pay a hefty price for bursts of activity, so mostly house bound now. 

Why I’m annoying you with the concept of one minute meditations 

In hindsight there is a chance I should have called this website one minute reprieve for ME. It might have been more palatable for those that hate the idea of meditation or hate the idea of people offering some airy fairy self-help type suggestions. Don’t worry I‘m not claiming to give you the tools that are going to make you become so well adjusted to Long Covid or ME/CFS that you’re insufferable to everyone else. I’m not claiming to come up with the keys to self-awareness and now you’ll need to change all your friends because you suddenly find yourself resonating on a higher level.

One minute meditation is about finding different ways to take a moment away from the fear, anxiety and stress. Taking a moment away, even it ever so briefly, from having a chronic illness. Most suggestions probably won’t look like what you might think of as traditional meditation, they are more closely related to one minute distractions.

It’s also about the fact that since the pandemic people around the world are doing a wonderful job of flooding the internet with ways to stay sane while in isolation, whether its fitness videos, recipes or books to read. Demoralisingly, for those of us that are bed bound or house bound most of the time, all the suggestions require energy.  In fact, the vast majority of the suggestions are about how to get rid of all their bottled up energy. So I’m trying to suggest one minute escapes that require as little energy as possible. I’m also trying to present it in a way that doesn’t push all your buttons. Though, I have to admit it’s a bit more like trying to navigate a minefield because so many of us have had such terrible experiences with medical professionals.

For the record, in case you need to hear it from me before you continue, the symptoms of ME/CFS are not in your head. Providing tools that might help with depression, stress or anxiety is in no way supposed to be a treatment or cure for ME/CFS. It’s about providing you with either a moment of reprieve or a moment of ‘really that’s her idea of a moment of reprieve’. Now its catch 22 for you because now you’re thinking about writing in the comments section or the contact form which is the main aim of this website, for you to share your story. Even if all this goes down like a well meaning celebrity sing along video it’s the unity you’ll feel afterwards that counts. Right?

Just in case you were wondering if I have any authority to talk about anti anxiety tools I have a degree in Psychology and had the privilege of being a counsellor until I was unable to because of my illness. And yes, I get why it’s a massive trigger point to be told about anything that resembles psychological intervention after the absolute hideousness of the CBT/Graded Exercise stuff. Even when I was a practicing therapist I was told by countless health professionals it was all just depression or in my head. Nothing I say on this site is about treating ME/CFS, its about dealing with what its like to have this condition especially while there’s a pandemic. If you need to know more about why I am doing this website check out my first blog.

I do have to include one standard disclaimer:

It will become clear as you read through any of my resources that perfection is not the goal. There will be mistakes in my content and I need to be okay with that. Being okay with imperfection is part of self-care and self-kindness. Its also more illustrative…Every imperfection tells a story of what it is like to live with ME/CFS.

 

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