Sunday 25 January 2015

ME/CFS therapy

Last week I went to the first session in what looks set to be a relatively long therapy process.

I went to the ME/CFS clinic at the hospital and the first session was a group session with each sufferer being allowed to bring a friend or family member with them. The lady leading the group gave a presentation on the condition and made it interactive when discussing symptoms and initial triggers. I found the talk very interesting and it did make me think about some things differently and made me realise that it's likely to be a long road to recovery but I feel this session gave a good starting point. It has made me feel more positive about the future.

All attendees received a 'starter pack' to read through and begin to work through. There was the option to opt in to continue with therapy and if you do (as I did) then the next step is a 45 minute phone call from the therapy team to discuss where the best way forward for you as an individual and to see how you're finding the information in the starter pack and to see if you've put any of it into effect. Following that there will be 2 group workshops with a 2 month gap between them (I think this is so you can use what you learn to aid in your recovery) and then there is  the option for one to one therapy. Attending the group made me feel like I'm going to be supported through my recovery and makes you realise there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The main thing I took from the group session was the need to rest and relax both physically and mentally and knowing that you need to think about how you do your day to day activities and rethinking how you do everything rather than burning out all the time. Although to fit in all the suggested rest breaks, I feel I'll need there to be 48 hours in each day! lol. Resting mentally isn't something I find very easy to do - I can sit down and 'rest' but I often end up feeling guilty about it as I feel I should be doing this, that or the other instead of sitting down. In an attempt to help with this I've located some meditation classes which we should be starting tomorrow night. Hopefully this will help to calm my mind and stop me stressing out.

James came along to the session with me which was really lovely and I'm very appreciative that he's always so supportive and wants to help and I know we'll get through this together.

If you're struggling to cope with your ME/CFS then I would absolutely recommend asking your GP to refer you to your local therapy sessions at the hospital.

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