Natural Chronic Fatigue Treatment Guide for Pacing Yourself

by Helene Malmsio

Do you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? There are new methods to treat it and help you cope better with it.

Chronic fatigue treatment is more about developing a lifetime management plan than looking for the non-existent cure.

As you probably know, there is no medication that can cure chronic fatigue syndrome. It is not a virus or bug that can just be given some anti-biotics and it will go away.

There simply is no one-stop remedy available right now to beat it forever.

Nevertheless, there is a lot that people with mild, moderate or even severe C.F.S. or M.E. can do to improve the quality of their lives.

Pacing is a chronic fatigue treatment that is very popular with many chronic fatigue and M.E. patients and support groups because it improves the quality of life and makes people feel more in control of their activities.

Most importantly, it allows the body to rest as much as it needs so that it can heal in its own way, in its own time.

I find this therapy to be invaluable. It helps me to cope on a day to day basis with all the chores and tasks of daily living.

People with chronic fatigue syndrome or M.E. have to face the fact that they cannot do as much as they used to.

Exactly what you can do will vary from person to person and even from day to day.

I get as much help as I can, or I would not be able to live a decent lifestyle... I recognise that I cannot do it all by myself any more.

For the things that you can still do for yourself, you need to break them down into daily and weekly and monthly chunks that you can manage, and get plenty of rest in between tasks.

Start by thinking about what you can still do on even a "Bad day" where you can hardly get out of bed. Which activities are most important to you?

How could you could structure a bad day to get plenty of rest between these activities?

There are probably some things that you will need to give up altogether.

Many people have to stop work or college, but some people with milder symptoms are able to continue to work either full or part time by giving up other things, like sports or social activities.

What are your priorities?

Social activities as well as physical activities are exhausting for most people with chronic fatigue.

On the other hand, it is important for all human beings to maintain some contact with others.

If you are severely ill this may be only your carer.

If you have moderate or mild chronic fatigue, you will probably be able to maintain some contact with a wider circle, but probably in different ways than you are used to.

Do you find it easier to visit others or to have them visit you?

Or would it better to stop seeing most people, but talk to them on the phone?

If you imagine yourself (healthy) in 10 years' time, who are the people that you would not want to have lost contact with?

Apart from these things, which I consider a luxury personally, you need to work out how to do the things like feed your pets, do your laundry, prepare meals, go grocery shopping, change your sheets, cleaning, water the garden, washing your hair, or whatever it is that 'has to be done' and that you are doing for yourself.

Spread them over the days of the week so that you only have one big task every day. And then break that big task into 10 or 20 increments. And then allow 10-20 minutes rest break in-between those chunks.

Don't be embarrassed that you need to take these breaks, and may have to lie down in between... instead celebrate that you are able to do them at all.

It can be hard for friends and family to understand chronic fatigue treatment.

They may have trouble believing that you know what is best for you.

Pacing is less popular with those who do not know much about the condition.

Even some health professionals will push you to increase your activity levels because they think this is the way to improve. This can be very detrimental as over-extending yourself can push you into a longer term downward spiral.

And unfortunately, if you are having a 'good day' you may feel up to attempting a new exercise routine or some other form of exertion, that you will live to regret the next day or week.

When you feel you can increase your activity levels, by all means consider what areas you can increase, but remember that it must be done very gradually.

In fact, you may find that one of the most important things you can do for your own chronic fatigue treatment is to understand and to help those around you to understand that a person with chronic fatigue is NOT helped by 'going to their limits'.

Explain to them that it is like flu, but much more long term: if you do too much, too soon, you will get worse, not better.

Of course, assuming that your health does improve, you will be able to increase your activities little by little.

But it is not the increasing of activity that causes the improvement - it is the rest that you allow yourself when you reduce all types of activities (physical, mental, social and emotional) to a level that your body can handle.

In other words, pacing for chronic fatigue treatment is not like fitness training for a healthy person, where the more they increase the activity in their workout, the fitter they get.

Chronic fatigue treatment, as we have already said, involves allowing the body to rest and heal for as long it needs and then increasing activity to match the improvement that has already happened.

Learn more about CFS causes, symptoms and natural fatigue remedies when you read the rest of our information here about: How to treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome CFS.

CFS IS MISUNDERSTOOD - ARE YOU?

Friends and family don't understand chronic fatigue syndrome but we do. We can help you BEAT CFS and give you your life back. Feel normal again!

Learn more here about my book available on Amazon in Printed book or Kindle download; "How to Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome...and get your life back!"

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