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| Laziness versus Pacing |
It suddenly struck me when I saw this LOLcat image that this is how others view us. Pacing: stopping well short of what you might be able to do to avoid exhaustion and flares is extremely important to sufferers of fibromyalgia and ME/CFS. My occupational therapist at the Pain Management Centre had spoken to me about it, saying I should aim to do half or two-thirds of what I think I can manage and gradually work up towards doing more. [No I shouldn't, but ...]
She says I need to pace better (how, exactly?) when I mention the 1 mile walk that is too much for me, but for which there is no alternative as it’s a mile to town, a mile to the bus stop, a mile to the train station, a mile to the doctors’ surgery … This means I can only go out once in a while, for essential appointments, which send me hurtling into mega-flares, then rest for days / weeks, rinse repeat.
All of the rest of the time, at home, I’m either too exhausted to do anything, or I’m pacing well below my capabilities in order to save up some energy for the next outing; not fun ones, mostly just hospital and doctor’s visits.
This latter is called “laying around” to anyone else. They think it’s laziness.
They should try to live a day with the amount of pain and fatigue we have: they wouldn’t be pacing, they’d be demanding the euthanasia pills!
All of the rest of the time, at home, I’m either too exhausted to do anything, or I’m pacing well below my capabilities in order to save up some energy for the next outing; not fun ones, mostly just hospital and doctor’s visits.
This latter is called “laying around” to anyone else. They think it’s laziness.
They should try to live a day with the amount of pain and fatigue we have: they wouldn’t be pacing, they’d be demanding the euthanasia pills!
