I thought it was time to define my aims for this blog, to be clear about what this space is and isn’t so you can decide if it’s the right place for you (I hope it is!).

Aims

Mindful Fatigue is a guide to recovery from ME/CFS, providing:

• clear, practical advice
• based on personal experience
• focused on recovery, not just living with symptoms.
• short posts accessible for people with limited energy
• acknowledging all aspects of having ME/CFS, the good and the bad
• sharing my own stories where useful

The aim is to grow a body of knowledge over time that supports you on your own recovery journey.

Recovery

I’m focused on recovery, not living with symptoms, acting as a supporting companion on your healing journey.

Many people have recovered from ME/CFS and if they can, we can. It’s hard to find out how they recovered though and I haven’t come across many resources on practical steps (or on recovery at all). My aim is to fill that gap and help us to help ourselves, because only action creates change.

Some people prefer to focus on living with their symptoms, which is completely valid. You are the only one who knows what your ME/CFS is like. I can only speak for myself and offer my own experience and approach.

Practical advice

When I was bedbound, the idea of reading a 400 page book was as impossible as a quick jog to the moon. I just wanted simple, clear, practical advice in as few words as possible.

Every article is written to be accessible for people with limited energy and I spend a lot of time rewriting each article to make it more concise.

Each post shows the estimated reading time and I aim for 5 minutes or less. This is calculated using a slower reading speed of 200 words per minute, to account for limited energy.

Personal experience

I include stories from my own experience where relevant, as I always appreciate hearing other peoples stories. They help me realise I’m not alone, even if my experience isn’t exactly the same as others.

I’m not a medical professional and I’m not offering medical advice. I’m just offering my own experience and thoughts on recovery.

Acknowledging the good and bad

Focusing on recovery does not mean just focusing on the positives. It’s only by acknowledging what’s actually happening, including the awful parts, that we can start to heal.

The ME/CFS community rightly spends a lot of time highlighting the truly terrible situations that many sufferers are in, and it’s essential that their stories are heard. Reading traumatic stories can be overwhelming, especially with limited energy, so I aim to acknowledge and support whilst keeping the focus on moving forward with our own healing journeys.

Learning from experience

This blog distills my lessons learned into short, clear and practical posts accessible for people with limited energy. I hope it helps you or someone you care for.

I’d love to hear from you if you’re reading this. If you’d like to get in touch for any reason; to chat, share your story or provide feedback, then you can contact me here.