Top 10 Live with ME/CFS Blog Posts of 2020

To celebrate the new year, I took a look back at my 10 most popular posts on the blog last year. These are the posts that got the most visits in 2020:

1. Coronavirus and ME/CFS - Without a doubt (as you'll see from the rest of the list), COVID-19 was at the top of everyone's list this year, and it seems that people with ME/CFS were eager for information about the virus itself and how it might affect us. This post explains all about the immune dysfunction of ME/CFS, how COVID-19 might affect us, with links to more information.
2. The October Slide: ME/CFS and Infectious Triggers - While relevant to COVID-19, this post focused on the annual downturn that many people with ME/CFS experience every fall and winter, explaining why it usually happens, how you can prevent these seasonal crashes, and how to treat them when they do occur.
3. Info and Resources on COVID-19 and ME/CFS - By this time, in April, information had begun pouring out in articles, videos, blog posts, and more from ME/CFS experts, doctors, and patients. This post included much of that information.
   
4.  My Update: Crashes, Infections, and Treatments ... Oh, My! - I don't know whether it had anything to do with the pandemic (the timing is suspicious), but I started an unexplained downturn in mid-March that still continues (with some improvements) today. In this post, I describe what I was experiencing, the tests and investigations to help me figure out what caused my sudden worsening, and the treatments that helped me to improve somewhat, though I am still not back to my "normal" baseline and my investigations continue.
5. Weekly Inspiration: Lift Up Your Spirits - Clearly, others were having as bad a year as I was and were looking for inspiration and joy because this Weekly Inspiration post got a lot of visits! It includes inspiration specific to chronic illness, silly videos to make you laugh, and some of my comfort TV recommendations for laughter and smiles.
6. Weekly Inspiration: 5 Ways to Start the New Year Right! - Relevant again now, this post includes my own traditions for starting a new year, plus inspiration from four other bloggers for more joy, happiness, compassion, and more in the new year.
7. Weekly Inspiration: You're Right Where You Need to Be - Seeing a trend here? By April, we all needed some comfort and reassurance (as both the pandemic and my own personal downturn continued). This post was inspired by a wonderful book a friend of mine wrote and a chapter in my own book.
8. COVID-19 Long-Haulers and ME/CFS - By August, what the ME/CFS community expected and feared was coming to pass--somewhere between 10 and 25% of those who got COVID-19 were not recovering and developed a "mysterious condition" featuring debilitating fatigue and an intolerance to exertion. This post collects some of the many news stories about long-haulers that began to reference ME/CFS, and discusses the impact for us existing ME/CFS patients.
9. Interview with Rachel of Chronic Fatigue Sanity Blog - I was pleased to see that Rachel's interview of me hit the Top 10 because is was certainly a highlight of my own year! This interview, where we talk about our own experiences with ME/CFS and my book, was the start of a wonderful friendship. 
10. Weekly Inspiration: Chronically Ill Holiday Gifts and Tips - Though the holiday season is now past, this great collection of gift guides and coping tips from other bloggers is still perfectly relevant for the new year--maybe you could use a new year gift to yourself to start the year off right!

There you go! As you can see, information about COVID-19, emotional coping, and inspiration were the hot topics of the year here.