Seeing Through Invisible Illness

This is a wonderful article! I couldn't have written it better myself! I love when a writer can put something so simply, hitting the nail on the head and I have that "Exactly!" moment!

Here is the link for anyone with fibromyalgia , anyone who suspects they have it, and employers, friends and family of people with fibromyalgia.

http://livingwithcfs.com/fibromyalgiacfs-friendship-seeing-through-invisible-illness/

By the way, I have a new painting I finished this week. I shall post it tomorrow.

I did well this week. What I did really worked. I felt "normal". The kind of energy I should always have. But yesterday  I went shopping in Wal Mart and with it being the holidays more and more people were cowing around the halls. I say cowing because people tend to get in each others way in these places. Lastnight my sleep was more disturbed than usual and I got to sleep later than what I finally got myself to get to sleep at.

To sum it up? Shopping in a busy mall at Wal Mart during the holiday season triggers me! Today I was tired, soar and feeling overwhelmed by nothing. I think I hate the overwhelmed by nothing bit more than anything else. It's a feeling of really really needing nothing else but to be still, think nothing, do nothing but breathe. I did that today as much as I could but today the guilt set in some as it does for all people with fibromyalgia. I do much better when I don't allow any guilty feelings to come in. People with fibromyalgia simply need a day to do nothing or sometimes more after a day of a lot of stimuli and activity. At the mall there is just too much bright light, too many people and too many things to see. Today I simply did Tai Chi and Restorative Yoga. And a nap in the afternoon.

I played guitar a little tonight but I have found over the years that music takes more energy than any creative activity. Music is the most sensitive to the amount of energy a person has. It's why musicians have such amazing energy and why people throng to them. Music expresses the subtlest of energies in our world and the next.

But I truly had many blissful moments this week as I painted in my front room or while doing Zumba.

Over the years and this week I have learned and will share my tips with you.

1. Get to sleep by 10pm and rise at 6amish or no later than 7:30am
2. Pace yourself during a "bad day" which means no guilt, no pressure, gentle activity such as Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Restorative Yoga, hot baths, tea and nap in afternoon. Work your way up to doing short durations of cardio activity. Everyone is different. A particular form of movement will help you while it will flare symptoms with someone else. And don't knock a certain activity if it does. Simply try it in a gentler and less intense version. Pilates is beneficial once you work yourself up to it if you start gently and only for 20 minutes. Pilates works because it elongates muscles while strengthening your support systems. You will beable to walk easier and feel lighter and taller after only a few sessions! But remember start off with  Gentle Yoga,Tai Chi or Qi Gong first.
3. Slowly build up your activity gradually either from day to day or week to week as you need,
4. Get Massage!
5. Have another Hot Bath!
6. Keep a diary of what creates flare ups and what works for you in what way and how. Be detailed. Use this diary to create greater quality of life and health as well as to schedule down days in bed the day after a busy day.
7. Slowly take out of your diet things that may be contributing to bad days. Such as caffeine from coffee but allow yourself a once in a blue moon treat of your favorite coffee. Mine is Just Us Espresso Blend.
8. Incorporate gentle dry skin brushing in circular motions with a natural bristle brush before bathing/showering.
9. Important! Reduce exposure to chemicals and toxins as much as possible!
10. Be particular about the scents you allow around you. Take note of any natural scents that do not bother you and the ones that do.
11. Wear shades in the sunlight.
12. Drink lots and lots of water!
13. Laugh and laughing with friends over dinner, board games and simple activities can help a lot!
14. When you are fatigued and in pain get yourself as comfortable as possible and then do nothing but breathe and be with the pain. Most often people will do something to take their mind off pain which works sometimes for most people but in specific cases such as Fibromyalgia the best thing is to be still, breathe and be with it. Oddly enough, not fighting it allows some relief.

At least these are things that I have found to help me. All of these things have helped only because I have been consistent but as with anyone with Fibro I will need to continue as best I can and allow for down days after a day or days of great activity. This can include a day in bed simply laying and breatheing, napping, favorite movies and good books.

And number fifteen and sixteen?

15. Be as vigilant as possible with your thoughts. Simply stop thinking about the things or people that make you feel guilty. Stop rehearsing what you will tell the people you know about why this, why that. Be supremely compassionate with yourself allowing yourself peace. Sometimes being vigilant with thoughts means being vigilant about who you allow around you. Some people will make you feel like you are in court being accused of a crime and can make you feel guilty for a crime that doesn't exist.

16. Meditate but do it in a position that works for you. Seated meditation can be hard on the back muscles for people with fibro, at least it has always been for me. Meditation works with the combination of knowing the technique, doing it consistently, compassion for self and others, a comfortable position while meditating and setting an intention of exploration to get to know you. This means allowing your mind to be open even as you feel pain and even as you do "nothing." It means being a compassionate witness to your experience and simply being aware of the moment with your breath. Then sometimes you can include other people in your meditation.

I have thought more on what this culture expects. The ultimate sin is being sick or taking rest. You must not be seen at any point faltering from the great ladder of achievement and success. To me or to anyone who has met with great challenges success is a day of doing what you love doing. No high marks, no flashy fame, no titles or pieces of paper. When you strip away cultural conditioning what you have left is quality of life. But there is a fear there that if people valued quality of life over everything then nothing would be done or accomplished but I don't believe that to be true. If one persons quality of life is found in retail instead of being an artist or craftsperson then there you go.To each there own. We are a very judgmental species. Very high in ethics and morale but quick to make mistakes while lacking in observing capabilities to see and feel the mistake that was done and the effects it had. It would be nice if at this point in evolution people would rise above their judgements of others and themselves. There is no need for it when it only causes more harm and damage. People aren't perfect. That very odd and sublime ideal that humans have created called "perfection" only leads to our demise. It is the reason for much of the worlds damage in Gaia and in our cultural infrastructures. Can we not put down the gun of perfection finally? Just let it go and say that the war on our mortality is off? Could we please?