Spring Cleaning for Your Spirit

I posted a new video, Spring Cleaning for Your Spirit, based on a chapter from my book, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness, that is useful any time of year but feels particularly relevant in spring.

It's all about replacing negative feelings with healthier feelings: “Think of it as a mental health scrub: clearing out the old “dirt” in our minds, like resentment, envy, anger & loneliness, and replacing them with healthier feelings, like joy & connection.”

I don't approach this like a big, difficult project but propose small, practical tips for moving your life of chronic illness toward one that is healthier emotionally, since our mental health has a direct effect on our physical health. To be clear, this isn't "think positive and make yourself well" kind of crap, which I detest! It's small, simple steps that any of us can take each day to try to address those darker feelings and bring more joy and connection into our lives.

You can watch the 13-minute video on YouTube or I will include it below:

On a personal note, I haven't been posting much lately because I have been struggling with my own health. My usual "winter relapse" lasted into March this year, and after about a month of gradually feeling better, another surprise relapse hit me last week. I usually do quite well in spring and summer--last year, I did not have a single crash day from March through August!--so this is particularly demoralizing. I'm supposed to be going away with my mom this weekend for a book event we attend every year in Vermont, but I had to cancel. I've restarted microdosing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 agonist) in the hope that it will bring me back to a better level of functioning, as it did this past winter. And, since immune activation is my biggest issue in recent years, I have been reading some of the latest research on that topic ... I promise to share with you what I learn!

 

Do you have ways of bringing more joy into your life?

Please share in the comments below.

You can also connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Joys of Fall

I thought I'd combine a quick personal update with sharing my latest camping vlog. This past month has been so busy here! I love fall with the cooler weather (ME/CFS has made me so heat intolerant) and brilliant foliage, but it seems to be flying by. We did manage a nice, relaxing 9-day camping trip at the end of September, with stops in two beautiful state parks in New York (check out my vlog from the trip) to make up for having to cancel our July/August vacation due to my slow recovery from COVID. 

Kayaking on beautiful Gilbert Lake in NY

My husband and I celebrated our 35th anniversary at the end of September with a rare dinner out, though since getting COVID again, I am even more nervous about restaurants. For my husband's 70th birthday at the start of October, I planned a big surprise: a golf weekend in nearby Maryland for him, our son, his local golfing friend, and his friend from high school who flew up from Texas for the occasion! We managed to surprise my husband, and they had a great time golfing within view of the Chesapeake Bay and staying at the Airbnb I rented. The following week, his Texas friend's wife flew up to join him, and they spent the week here. She and I had never met before, but we had so much in common! What an unexpected joy to make a new friend. I was worried the week would be too much for me, but they wanted to see the East Coast and traveled to the beach, the mountains, Philadelphia, and New York City. And when they were here, we very much enjoyed their company.

Out on the deck with our Texas friends!

 

They left on Saturday afternoon and by noon on Sunday, we had our camper packed up and ready to go! I didn't want October (my favorite month) to go by without any camping, so we squeezed in a mini 2-day getaway to Killens Pond State Park, just over an hour away from us here in Delaware. It was a short trip but SO relaxing! We spent a lot of time in our lounge chairs, reading, enjoying the view, and looking at the campfire. Just the break and time in nature we needed. You can watch my short vlog from the trip on YouTube or below:

Back home, we met up with our son and his girlfriend last weekend to visit a local farm market for pumpkins and hot, fresh donuts, our annual tradition. (After zero sugar or flour for the past 10 months due to chronic yeast overgrowth, I even treated myself to a half donut!) Afterward, we went to visit their new apartment for the first time; our son moved out of our house in September.

Our fall tradition!

This week, for reasons I don't understand, I was pretty badly crashed on Monday and Tuesday, for the first time since I got past the worst of COVID. I felt better today--not quite up to where I have been but able to get out for a doctor's appointment, a tiny 10-minute walk among stunning fall foliage, and my neighborhood book group.

Fall colors

 

And now, I am out on our back deck, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. I've spent a lot of time in this reclining chair out here this week!

My happy place on our back deck in the reclining chair!

Overall, aside from this brief crash this week, I am almost back to my pre-COVID baseline. The first six months of this year were the best I've had in several years, so my energy and stamina aren't completely back to that yet but are getting close.

How are you doing?

Do you enjoy fall? If not, what's YOUR favorite season?

Let me know in the comments below.

You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.

Chronic Illness Vlog 4-1-24: Out in the World, Home Improvements & Easter

I recorded a chronic illness vlog last week, full of videos (and some photos) that show an honest view of my life with ME/CFS and Lyme. And these days, it's a pretty good life!

I am still doing really well and have been quite active, as you can see in the video. I've been able to see friends, go shopping (!), run errands, and even begin to work on our house a little (baby steps!). Small steps toward decluttering feel so good after feeling so helpless the past few years; it feels great to be productive again. Last week, I also went to the movies with my husband and enjoyed a weekend trip to visit family for Easter. This visit was a far cry from our last trip, for Thanksgiving in November, when I was so horribly sick that I needed a second nap between dinner and dessert.

As I've mentioned here before, my recent big improvements came from treating chronic yeast overgrowth (which makes me feel awful). I thought it was already well-controlled ... but I was wrong! It took all of the treatments in my Treating Yeast Overgrowth post, plus a major change to my diet at the beginning of the year. The other factor was effectively treating thyroid dysfunction (hypothyroidism, in my case). My doctor and I worked on that for over a year, but I couldn't see the full improvement with the yeast overgrowth making everything worse. 

That's the way it is with these complex immune disorders; sometimes you can't see the benefits of one treatment until you tackle another aspect of the disease. I have not experienced a single crash from over-exertion (or for any reason) yet in 2024, which feels like a miracle. I'm feeling the best I have in several years. Keep in mind that prior to this, I also treated many other aspects of the disease (see Effective Treatments, newly updated). It's like playing whack-a-mole!

You can watch last week's vlog on Youtube or right here, below:

How was YOUR week?

How are you doing?

Please leave a comment below.

You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

My 2023 In Review: Chronic Illness Rollercoaster!

Chronic Illness is often said to be a rollercoaster (in fact, Riding the Chronic Illness Rollercoaster is the name of a chapter in my book!), and that was definitely true for me last year, with plenty of ups and downs in my life with ME/CFS and Lyme. I'm a little late with my usual year-end wrap-up (and only just set my goals for the new year!), but that's another fact of life when you have chronic illness; we make accommodations. 

NOTE: I like data and am an analytical person. For details on how I simply track how I feel on a calendar, check out my post, My Progress in 2020 and Goals for 2021 and scroll down to My Health in 2020 and below that, the section called "How Do I Know This?" Or you can watch my short video, Chronic Illness: Tracking How I Feel, Symptoms, and Treatments. I use a 1 to 5 rating, where 1 is good and 5 is mostly bedridden. I also rate my exertion each day on a 1 to 5 scale. And for details on the process I use for goals, which focuses on taking very small steps toward what I want in my life, see my video, Setting Goals When Chronically Ill (Improve Your Life in Tiny Steps).

 

2023 in Review: My Health - the Data

Average How I Felt = 2.5 (1 is good; 5 is bad)

• 13% better than 2022, which was my worst year in 21 years of chronic illness.
• My best months were 2.2, and my worst was 3.4.
  
• Things have been a lot worse for me since 2020 (see my Relapses & Recoveries post), so this was a move in the right direction!
  

Average % crashed = 15% (meaning I was couchbound/bedridden 15% of the time)

• Crashed = a 4 or 5 on my scale, unable to function, stuck in bed or lying on the couch.
  
• 12% better than 2022, which was a low point.
• The average doesn't tell the whole story because there were some highs and lows.
  
• My best months were April and June, with only 3% crashed, but in my worst month, November, I was crashed and nonfunctional 50% of the time.
  

Average exertion = 3.8 (on a scale of 1 to 5)

• 8% better than 2022.
  
• My best months were April and October, with 4.3 average exertion, and my worst month was November, with just 2.8--I spent much of that month lying on the couch.
  
• I think my exertion level looks better than I actually felt; I know that I was pushing myself too hard and not resting enough during some of those early crash months. I finally gave in and rested in November.

  

What Made Things Worse Last Year:

• Not listening to my body and resting enough when I crashed.
• Yeast Overgrowth - this was definitely my biggest issue in 2023:
• As with many people with ME/CFS, I suffer from chronic yeast overgrowth due to the specific kind of immune dysfunction in this disease.
• I made the mistake--over and over!--of assuming it was under control because of all the treatments I routinely take/do that normally work effectively. This kept me from recognizing (and treating) the underling causes of my repeated crashes.
• My diet. I was calling my diet Paleo, but honestly, I wasn't sticking it to it very strictly by last year. This was a huge contributing factor. If I had actually stuck to a strict Paleo diet, the yeast overgrowth probably wouldn't have gotten so much worse.
  
• A short round of steroids (prednisone for five days) in November. Since the issue was actually yeast overgrowth, suppressing my immune system was not a good idea!
  

 

What Helped Me Last Year:

I tried eight new treatments (or adjustments to old treatments) last year that helped me. Below are the changes that helped me the most (some things that I tried, I'm not sure yet if they are helping or not).

• Normalizing my thyroid function. I spent a full year working with my primary care doctor on this, getting thyroid labs every two months, adjusting my meds, waiting another two months, repeat. All that effort, patience, and persistence paid off, and I am starting 2024 with my thyroid working very well! Besides increased energy, less fatigue, and more stamina, I lost 20 pounds over the past year--back to pre-illness weight! It's been eye-opening to see what a difference this makes. I wrote all about it in Diagnosing and Treating Thyroid Dysfunction in ME/CFS and Long-COVID.
• Changing my diet. In the very last two weeks of the year, I drastically changed my diet, once my functional medicine specialist pointed out to me that I still had thrush in my mouth, even with all the anti-yeast treatments I was on. I took her advice to "starve the yeast" by switching to a no-carbs Carnivore Diet. It is what it sounds like: meat, fish, eggs, butter, and no carbs at all. It worked, and by the first days of January, I was feeling the best I have felt in many years! Here's my video about my first month on the Carnivore Diet. I am currently about 97-98% Carnivore; I occasionally have a few bites of non-yeast-encouraging veggies or avocado. I am still feeling great (for me!). I've been seeing friends, taking daily walks, and even helping a friend with her move. Today, I went shopping for clothes for the first time in ages (my clothes are all too big now), and it is just such a thrill to be back out in the world!

 

Other Highs and Lows of 2023 for Me:

Lows: Obviously, with all of 2023's health issues and months spent on the couch, many things just didn't get done last year:

• Not enough time with local friends.
• Very little writing outside of my two blogs and no magazine articles.
• No energy for our home--decluttering is getting urgent!
• Given my poor health many months, I was not able to walk as much as I like or keep up even my tiny on-the-floor strengthening routines. 

Highs: But as always, though my year seemed awful when I was stuck on the couch in November and December, when I look back, I see some wonderful highlights:

My husband and I enjoyed 3 relaxing week-long camping vacations: to Virginia state parks in April, to the Catskills in June, and to the Virginia mountains in October for stunning fall foliage! When we travel with our camper, it is very easy and low-key. (links are to my travel vlog videos, where you can see some of the beautiful natural surroundings we enjoyed).

We enjoyed three weekends with our adult sons and their girlfriends, one at home for Father's Day, one camping in Pennsylvania and one at a rental on a lake in New Jersey. We cherish that quiet, laid-back, fun time with them!

My childhood best friend, Michelle, came to visit me in July, and we enjoyed a wonderful weekend together, reminiscing and making new memories!

In September, I finally got to meet in person my friend from across the world! Annie and her husband were visiting from Australia, and they made time in their busy schedule to meet up with us. Annie and I met online over 10 years ago, in the group I started for Parents of Kids and Teens with ME/CFS and Related Illnesses. We both had sick kids, and we supported each other and bonded. Annie later helped me run the group, and we've stayed in touch even though our "kids" are now grown up (and both doing quite well). It was such a treat to meet in person!

I stuck with my new goal to spend time outside every day and so enjoyed that extra time in nature! Given the state of my health, often that time was spent lying in a reclining chair on our deck or very slowly walking around the little cul-de-sac in front of our house, but the new habit really enriched my life. If you'd like to do the same, Join Me to Notice and Enjoy Nature More in 2024! with my #nature365 project.

 

So, that was my 2023.

How was last year for you?

 

What small joys did you experience?

 

What treatments help you?

 

Share your experiences (or any questions) in the comments below.

 

Peace and Tranquility in Nature

In my book, I included a chapter, The Restorative Power of Nature, that details the scientific evidence that time spent in nature has measurable positive effects on both mental and physical health. That chapter also includes tips on how to bring nature's benefits into your own life, no matter how restricted you are; studies show that even looking at pictures of nature provide benefits. You can read an earlier version of that chapter/article here on the blog. With that in mind, I wanted to share some photos and video of some of my own recent time spent outdoors, which provided a much-needed respite in the midst of a busy month.

First, in spite of weeks of rain, we managed to get out for a couple of nights camping. It was a tight squeeze, with everything else we've had going on, but those two days of complete relaxation outdoors were worth the rush to get there. We took our pop-up camper to a beautiful state park in Maryland, less than an hour from our home. With views from our campsite of the Elk River and expansive views of the Chesapeake Bay near the historic lighthouse, we soaked in all the sights and sounds of nature. Here, I put together a video of photos from our short trip. View on YouTube or below:

Expand the view to full-screen, and you can also enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature!

Just a few days after that camping trip, we met our sons (and one girlfriend) at a rented lake house for the weekend. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and a tropical storm sat over the area for much of the weekend (and the following week!), but Friday evening was beautiful. My husband and I got the kayaks out on the lake, and we all enjoyed a stunning sunset over the water. In spite of the rain, the rest of the weekend was super-relaxing, and we loved having that time together as a family. A few photos:

I find being near the water especially peaceful and restorative.

Have you been able to spend any time outdoors lately?

Or even just looking at nature through your windows?

Let me know in the comments below.

You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Beyond the Cul-de-Sac

A beautiful day by the creek

My husband gets credit for the title of this blog post. When I asked him this morning if he wanted to take a walk after breakfast, he said, "Beyond the cul-de-sac?" and then, "That would be a great name for a blog post." So here, it is!

The significance of that phrase is that I've been struggling all summer--really most of the past year--with low energy and more fatigue than usual. Between trying to find the right combination of treatments for my hypothyroidism, and my battles the past few months with severe yeast overgrowth, my energy and stamina have been much lower than usual. So, my daily walks have mostly been around our cul-de-sac--yup, exciting, around a small circle! When I feel I can manage a bit more, I walk our cul-de-sac and the next one over, but any further in our neighborhood involves too many hills. Once in a while, if I'm out for a medical appointment, I stop at a local paved walking path and stroll the flat parts, about 10-15 minutes.

So, that's why my husband was excited when I proposed a walk today "beyond the cul-de-sac"! We drove to a beautiful creek-side path we love. It's very flat (my heart rate barely went above 90), and we walked slowly. The humidity dropped today, which is why I suggested a walk, and this spot is so peaceful and restorative. I love listening to the sound of the bubbling creek alongside us. 

As I explain in my book, scientific studies show that time spent in nature provides measurable improvements in both mental and physical health--it even improves immune function! Studies also prove that even looking at pictures of nature can produce some of these beneficial results. So, here's my gift to you on this beautiful Sunday. If you're not able to get out and enjoy nature where you are, I will share ours with you here (and to hear the water and see the sunlight, check out my video short):

Someone left behind some nature artwork!

Cool and comfortable in the shade

My happy place

Looking down-creek

And up-creek

A lovely morning along the water!

How do YOU enjoy nature?

Chronic Illness Vlog 4-11-23: Busy Week, Mild Crash, Easter & Spring!

I haven't posted much here lately because life's been BUSY! That's a good thing in many ways because it means I am continuing to feel well. I can now say confidently that I am back to my baseline, where I was in 2019, which is pretty good. I am able to be more active, take walks again (yay!), and manage some social time without crashing. 

In  fact, we are preparing for our first week-long vacation since 2019!! That's not entirely because of my health (nor the pandemic), but due in large part to the fact that we were caring for my father-in-law who had dementia. However, I do feel excited about this trip, rather than worried, which is great! This is also our first time taking our camper out this year, and I am very much looking forward to the quiet, slow pace of a camping trip.

In my latest Chronic Illness Vlog, posted this week (recorded last week), I talk about having a busy schedule (too busy, as it turned out--I did have to leave my book group early and had a mild crash day), enjoying a wonderful Easter visit with my family, an update on my son's first full-time job (he's had ME/CFS since 2004), and as always, some lovely nature footage to immerse you in the sights and sounds of spring. You can watch it on Youtube or below:

I'll leave you with a view of what next week will be like for us!

How are YOU doing?

What was last week like for you?

Let me know in the comments below.

You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Quick Chronic Illness Vlog: Great News x 2! Plus Nature.

I didn't record a chronic illness vlog last week, with video clips from my entire week, but on Monday (yesterday), I decided to record a brief video to share some good news!

I think (don't jinx it!) that I am finally back to my "normal" baseline after the terrible (worst in 20 years) relapse that began last September (what caused it and what helped at the link). Here, I talk (and include some photos and video) about a hike this weekend that I managed without crashing.

Even bigger news and a huge milestone for our family ... our oldest son started his first full-time job in his professional career on Monday! He's been sick with ME/CFS and three tick infections for 18 years, since age 10, so this is an enormous step forward for him toward a normal adult life.

You can hear the good news and details for yourself in this quick vlog that also includes some photos and video clips of a beautiful day walking along a local stream - remember that just looking at nature has mental and physical health benefits!

The details of how we each improved to our current level of functioning are all here on my blog - the Treatments tab is a good place to start. I also included more links at the bottom of the video page on YouTube (click Show More below the video).

How are YOU doing?

What was last week like for you?

Let me know in the comments below.

You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Weekly Inspiration: 5 Inspiring Books for Chronic Illness

It's been a while since my last Weekly Inspiration (more like Monthly Inspiration lately), in part because I have been hard at work setting up my YouTube channel! It includes videos about living with chronic illness and about books and reading. In fact, if you prefer to watch/listen, there is a video for today's post. 

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time now, to share with you some of the wonderful books that have inspired me and helped me during my 19-year journey with chronic illness. (Note that the titles below link to my full-length reviews on my book blog (including samples of the audio books) if you want to read more, and at the end of each book's description, I link to both Amazon and Bookshop pages, in case you want to order one of these books).

First, the book that has had the biggest impact on my life: The Anatomy of Hope by Dr. Jerome Groopman. This book came into my life at just the right time, in the early years of my illness, during a severe relapse when I was feeling full of despair. The author shares many personal stories from his patients, as well as his own decades-long battle with chronic back pain. The stories show his own gradual understanding of the role that hope plays in illness and recovery, which is not something taught in medical schools. To be clear, this is not a “positive thinking will make you well” kind of book. All of us with chronic illness have experienced the backlash of that kind of thinking; the implication is that if you’re not well, then it must be your own fault. This is not that. Instead, he presents both anecdotal stories and scientific evidence of the role that hope, joy, and attitude play in healing. He combines compassion and science, and reading this book at that low point in my life made me feel more in control of my life and provided me with some much-needed hope for my future. In fact, when my father was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma 6 years ago, I gave him this book, along with some of my favorite quotes from it. It affected him the same way. He was something of a pessimist normally, but I think the book helped him to retain some hope, which in turn helped him to fight the cancer and continuing living his life for the next year. I do think hope played a role in helping him last that long and in giving us, his family, one last, precious year to spend with him, experience joy, and create memories. This book is very special to me. Available from Amazon or from BookShop, where you shop online and your purchase supports independent bookstores.

 

The next three books I want to share with you are all from the same author, Toni Bernhard, but she’s a very special person, and all three books are inspiring and helpful. Toni has ME/CFS and got sick about the same time I did, so we met online and have been friends for almost 20 years now.

 

Her first book was How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and their Caregivers.  This one, as the name implies, is specifically for those with chronic illness, though the title is a bit misleading because it’s really bout how to be well, emotionally and mentally, when your body is sick. And, in fact, anyone dealing with challenges in their lives will find this book helpful. In it, she applies Buddhist principles to life with chronic illness and explains in simple terms how to use these principles in everyday life. For instance, one Buddhist principle is that every life contains challenges, suffering is a normal part of life, and accepting this can ease your suffering. She also covers topics like finding joy in the midst of suffering, healing the mind by living in the present moment, learning to stop destructive thoughts, and much more. She even outlines some simple practices you can use in everyday life. When I first reviewed this book, my copy was filled with dog-eared pages, tabs, and Post-It notes because there was just so much packed into it. Available from Amazon or from BookShop, where you shop online and your purchase supports independent bookstores.

 

Toni’s second book, How to Wake Up: A Buddhist Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow, took these concepts and applied them more broadly to any person, not just those living with chronic illness. Once again, Toni applies the tenets of Buddhism to modern life in an accessible way so that anyone can live a life more filled with peace and acceptance. She describes in detail just how to go about “waking up” to a more resilient, peaceful life. In separate chapters, she covers topics like mindfulness, kindness, compassion, and more, as well as obstacles to wellness, like dissatisfaction, anger, and worry. In this brief passage, Toni introduces the concept of judging and why it hampers a life of peace:

 

“Judging is an obstacle to waking up because it’s hard to engage life as an awakened being – with kindness and friendliness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity – if we’re always adding likes and dislikes, shoulds and shouldn’ts to our bare experience.”

 

This book feels like having a good friend by your side, encouraging you, helping you to deal with your challenges and appreciate the joys in your life. Available from Amazon or from BookShop, where you shop online and your purchase supports independent bookstores.

 

Toni’s third book, How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide, moves back to focusing in on people with chronic health conditions but in a more general sense. She adapted columns she wrote from her popular column in Psychology Today, “Turning Straw Into Gold.” I hardly know where to start because Toni covers so much ground in this incredible book, and there is so much useful information packed into it. Her short, easy-to-read chapters cover every aspect of life with chronic illness or pain, from the benefits of patience to the problems with complaining, from mindfulness techniques to dealing with doctors, and from appreciating what you have to guidelines for your friends and family. Toni’s warm, kind tone runs through it all, interweaving her own experiences with advice for others. Her approach is always calm and compassionate. As she herself states, “I’ve worked hard to find a measure of peace in the midst of feeling misunderstood,” and she takes that hard-won experience and helps boil it down to basic, simple steps that we can all take to improve our lives and cope better with chronic illness.
Available from Amazon or from BookShop, where you shop online and your purchase supports independent bookstores.

 

My final choice is a beautiful and inspiring little memoir, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. The author also has ME/CFS, and at the time she wrote this book, she was completely bedridden. A friend discovers a small snail on a walk in the woods and brings it to Elisabeth, setting it down in a pot of violets on her nightstand. At first, she can’t imagine what her friend was thinking or why she’d want a snail! But the snail gradually wins her over, providing a tiny slice of living nature right at her bedside, engaging her mind and, as strange as it may sound, providing companionship.  She writes of the snail’s fascinating habits and compares its life with her own. Her observations of the snail, fortified with facts she learned during later research, are presented in beautiful, poetic language alongside observations of her own restricted life.  It’s hard to describe, but the effect is fascinating and lyrical. Available from Amazon or from BookShop, where you shop online and your purchase supports independent bookstores.

 

And last but not least, as a bonus 6^th book, let’s not forget my own book, published in 2020, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness. The focus of my book is on sharing our own experiences and providing practical tips you can use to improve your own life, bit by tiny bit. It covers daily living, emotional coping, relationships, and improvements, in short, easy to read chapters so you can dip in and out of it as needed. Each chapter provides helpful advice to making every day less stressful, more joyful, and more peaceful. This page provides more information, a few reviews, and links to both paperback and all types of e-book formats.

 

And that’s it! These are some of the books I have found most inspirational in living with chronic illness. I hope that you find some inspiration within these pages, as well.

 

In the comments (here or on YouTube), please share which books have inspired YOU!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Weekly Inspiration: Winter Boosts

It's that time of year again - the cold, dark days of winter (at least for those us us in the northern hemisphere). Short days, less sunshine, fewer times when we can get outdoors (especially for those who can't exercise), and even more isolation. In addition, many people with ME/CFS experience a downturn physically in the winter months (here's one reason why and how to prevent/treat that). 

Taken all together, that can make for some rough days when you are chronically ill. Below, I have collected some great advice from other bloggers (plus a bit from myself) on accepting where you are, finding joy in small moments, coping, and lifting your spirits.

 

From My Book

While all of my book, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness, is about emotional coping and improving your life, a couple of the chapters feel extra-relevant this time of year when you're feeling down or gloomy. Here, I will link to those, where I previously reprinted them on the blog.

My chapter, You're Right Where You Need to Be, was inspired by a friend's wonderful memoir. It's all about accepting where you are right now, switching from fighting the situation to giving in (but not giving up), and feeling more at peace with yourself and your current situation. You can read my previous blog post about it and the full text of the chapter at that link.

Once you have accepted where you are now, you can focus your attention on Finding Joy in Every Day. This means living in the present, being grateful, and finding small moments of joy in every day. This change of attitude can make a huge difference in how you feel about your illness, your current situation, and your life.

 

Banishing the Winter Blues

Pippa from The Life of Pippa blog wrote a wonderful post recently on Banishing the Winter Blues: Chronic Illness-Friendly Recommendations. She talks about how typical advice heard in the mainstream media and on social media at this time of year just doesn't work for us, and then she offers three great tips for helping yourself through the winter months.

 

7 Reminders for Those Bad Days to Keep You Going

One of my favorite chronic illness blogs is from Sheryl at A Chronic Voice. Her latest blog post is warm and supportive, like wrapping up in a super-soft, warm blanket. Her 7 Reminders for Those Bad Days to Keep You Going are all kind, gentle lessons that we probably learned at some point but need to be reminded of. Read it now, and bookmark it for the next time you are feeling crummy and having an especially rough day.

 

Loving "Moments" of my Chronic Illness Life

Sam of My Medical Musings blog has a thoughtful post about living her life in moments, that add up to days, weeks, and months. She explains why she feels content with her life, in spite of multiple serious medical conditions and disability. As in my own essay about finding joy in every day, she writes about living in the present and enjoying small moments, even on the worst days.

 

Stressed Out? Can We Manage and Overcome It?

Carole of Navigating the Storms has a helpful new post up, Stressed Out? Can We Manage and Overcome It? Here, she offers some great tips for dealing with stress, whatever its cause, which can be even more challenging for those of us with chronic illness.

 

So, there you have it - a collection of inspiration and wisdom from some of my favorite bloggers. You can enjoy the posts I linked to and also maybe find a new blog or two to follow (in addition to this one, of course!)

How about you? How do YOU deal with the winter doldrums? Please share your own tips and advice in the comments.

Weekly Inspiraton: Outdoor Living

One thing in my life that inspires (and calms) me more than anything else is being outdoors. I've written about this many times here on my blog and elsewhere, and you can read my tips in the post, Camping and Enjoying the Outdoors with ME/CFS. Check out this post which includes an article I wrote for ProHealth website on The Restorative Power of Nature, which was also edited and included in my book (notice the blue sky photo I choose for my book cover!). As that article explains, research shows that spending time outdoors has amazing positive effects on both physical and mental health. And for those of you who can't manage an outing to a park or are even bedridden, there's good news! Even just looking out a window or looking at photos of nature can have these same positive effects. I will share some of my own photos from this week so that you can enjoy and benefit from our outdoor adventures, too.

This past week, my husband and I were finally able to get out for a very quick camping trip with our pop-up camper, and it was so incredibly peaceful and calming for me! Besides my downturn these past six months, we are also caring for my husband's 95-year-old father. His cognitive function worsened severely with the isolation of lockdown, to the point where my husband was having to visit him twice a day, just to make sure he got up for his meals at least. So, with all that plus the pandemic, we have missed our usual relaxing camping trips this year. So, this week, we went to a local state park, Elk Neck State Park in Maryland, less than an hour away, and attempted a little mid-week day-and-a-half getaway!

Water view from our campsite

It was not entirely successful, since my father-in-law called the first morning with a bad toothaches, so we spent some time on the phone to him, the dentist, and our sons. But it was still incredibly rejuvenating just to be outdoors for a little bit and away from to-do lists, laptops, internet, etc. The campground was mostly empty, with just a few waterfront sites occupied, and we had our own site with a gorgeous water view.

A mostly empty campground meant plenty of quiet!

We fell asleep to the sounds of crickets and water lapping against the rocks near our campsite - ahhh, complete tranquility! And what a view to wake up to. This is one thing I love about our pop-up camper--the way you can just unzip the canvas and be surrounded by the outdoors even while you're inside.

Sleeping surrounded by nature

 

I felt well enough (!) to manage an easy walk to the beach, on a trail that led right from our campsite. This is one of our favorite things about this park: these secluded beaches, accessible only from the campground loops. We enjoyed a quiet stroll along the beach, watching the geese and cormorants (and one bald eagle!), listening to the gentle waves rolling in and enjoying the sunshine. This is the Elk River which empties into the Chesapeake Bay just past the park, which is on a peninsula. 

Peace and solitude on the beach

 

I wasn't up to it this time, but there is also a lovely trail out to the point of the peninsula, with a lighthouse and amazing views out into the Chesapeake. The photo is from a previous trip.

Us at the Elk Neck Lighthouse - Sept. 2018

Mostly, though, we just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet peacefulness. I did a lot of reading!

Relaxing and reading outdoors

 

At night, we enjoyed a campfire, complete with a foil dinner cooked on the fire and--of course--s'mores for dessert.

Enjoying an evening campfire

 

I ended our trip with my usual morning yoga stretches with this amazing view.

Yoga and water views!

 

We had to rush back home so my husband could take his dad to the dentist, but that inspiring calm and quiet stayed with me.

Try it yourself! Open a window and listen to the birds (that's what I'm doing right now). Lie outdoors in a lounge chair and look up at the sky and clouds. Really focus on your senses and the natural world around you to reap the benefits and feel calmer and more peaceful.

Have a lovely day ... and get outside!