Description
This article is from the Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome (CFS) FAQ, by cfs-news@cais.com (Roger Burns) with
numerous contributions by others.
3.01 How does one live with CFS?
- Know that it's not you. It takes a lot to adjust to your new,
lessened capabilities, and
the adjustment is made more difficult by the expectations of you and
those around you who have been long accustomed to dealing with your
"normal, healthy self".
- Patients often find an equilibrium point at which they can
function. As in combating
any chronic illness, a positive hopeful attitude is essential.
- Be prepared for a possible lack of acceptance from some from whom
you might
expect support. This may be a shock, but when you cannot regularly "go
bowling" with the gang, or you increasingly depend on being
accommodated at home or on the job, and when you have a condition that
your doctor may not certify or that other people have already heard of
as "that yuppie disease", then your emotional world will become quite
different.
- Find new sources of support. It will be important to create a new
family-and-friends
support structure. This can be done through CFS support groups,
electronic networking, pen pals, and other means.
- You will need to take the time to create a new self image for
yourself, to know that
your new physical limitations do not limit you as a person, as a soul,
no matter what other people are thinking. And take some advice from
those who have traveled this difficult road before you -- consider
reading from books like those below:
"The Alchemy of Illness" by Kat Duff, 1993, Pantheon Book, New York.
$19
"Recovering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Guide to
Self-Empowerment" by William Collinge, 1993, The Body Press/Perigee,
New York. $13.95
"Living With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" by Timothy Kenny, 1994,
Thunder's Mouth Press, New York. $12.95
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