Welcome, today we are doing something slightly different, I am going to share my professional & personal experience…to bring awareness to issues that many are living with…
So grab your beverage of choice & a treat you love & sit with me, while I share the following & we reflect upon it together…
If you have been traveling with me here on this journey, then you may be aware that I am a registered & qualified Clinical Counselor & Supervisor (Meet Jennifer). Counseling chronically ill patients in pain management therapies & coping strategies was a part of my career for many years…
I would often be asked by my patients on how they could explain their chronic illness to their family & friends? This is a tricky one, especially in the chronic health conditions of Fibromyalgia (FM) & Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) including many other chronic conditions where the patient looks well! My advice to them, at that time, was to be honest in what they were experiencing to the Significant Others in their lives.
Then I became chronically ill, you may like to read Vanilla Rooibos Tea … At first I would explain what I was experiencing with FM, to those who asked, in the following way; that FM was like having the worse flu you have ever had in your life, with all the aches & pain wracking your body…without the coughing & runny nose…the intensity may lessen or increase but the pain & fatigue is constantly there…
I have noticed over the last few years, that many ways of describing how depleted energy levels are felt in chronic health conditions have surfaced on the Internet, especially with FM/CFS. The most popular one is the Spoon analogy but there has also been the Laptop & the Mobile Phone battery analogies put forth. Which have worked for the person/s using them.
But I wanted an analogy to give to my patients on how the body acts physiologically within chronic illness & how this impacts us psychologically.
Thus, I was bantering this back & forth with a professional colleague of mine one day & we agreed upon the following concept…
The “Well” battery verses the “Chronically ill” battery…
The well person’s body battery in its 100% capacity is used in the following way;
30% energy is used for the normal functionality of the autonomic systems of the body, such as the cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory, gastrointestinal systems, neurological functions & cognitive processing etc…
+30% energy is used for work loads in working life,
+30% energy is available for socialization, relationships & emotions,
+10% energy reserve to draw upon for support when needed = 100% capacity.
The chronically ill person’s body battery in 100% capacity (which remember may not always be actually at 100%!) is used in the following way;
75-85% energy is used for functionality of autonomic systems of the body to try & function normally, while being severely impacted by the physiological stress of the chronic health condition/s…
+15-25% energy is used for work, relationships, socialization & emotions.
No energy reserve left, as already being used to prop up the above areas! = 100% capacity
Thus you can see that energy levels are severely hampered by chronic ill health. This is why we are always fatigued, this is why our emotional capacity becomes depleted very quickly, this is why our cognitive processing can be compromised, also known as mind/fibro fog (please read Listening… ) & our ability to socialize, greatly limited! And why so many of us have to lessen our workloads or stop work all together. And why our Significant relationships need to have great kindness & understanding.
The body will always prioritize its energy into the autonomic systems to function, as near as possible, to normal healthy system capacity, to keep us alive!
This knowledge helps us to become wiser within our own body’s capacity & capabilities. Knowing the above concept helps us to be kinder in our expectations of ourselves & our capabilities within chronic health conditions! We are operating at greatly depleted levels of energy for living our lives. It also helps us to prioritize & pace ourselves in the activities in which we choose to participate in, on any given day to live our new normal.
I hope this has been informative & helpful to you, whether you are living in wellness or in Chronic ill health, we need to be kinder in our expectations of others & ourselves but at the same time live the fullest life we can within our own body’s capacity…You may enjoy reading my Berry tea & expresso coffee…
Until next time dear friend…
Jennifer
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So today I have prepared a tea blend called Orange blossoms & ginger…our tasty treat is a Gf strawberry muffin made with homegrown strawberries, freshly picked.
I have brewed a Caramel Orange tea blend for us, which was a gift from my daughter on her recent return from Japan…& our treat for today is a Gf raspberry & white chocolate nut slice…I do have coffee for those of you who love coffee!
Then we decided to have a picnic lunch in the warmth of the car…out of the icy blasts of the wind…
The Princess & the Pea...My daughters had this endearing name for me between themselves from childhood….as I have always had muscle, scalp & skin tenderness & sensitivity over the years, where I literally could feel a tiny lump through a mattress while sleeping upon it, long before I was diagnosed with Autoimmune conditions…introduced in my reflection 