Monday 25 March 2013

That Awful Sunday Feeling


Ever since I was old enough to form an opinion I've hated Sundays. I guess that is normal when Sundays signify the end of the weekend and the start of the school/work week the next day, but not so normal when you don't work and everyday involves around the same routine.  What are even worse are bank holiday weekends - as I get that awful Sunday feeling twice.

Right up until I became ill with ME I think I just had that normal sense of "Oh, the weekend's over - bloody school/work again tomorrow." Now, there is nothing normal about the depth of sadness I feel every Sunday.  It was less so during the autumn and winter months but as we creep towards longer days, it is definitely getting worse. 

Saturday 23 March 2013

National Puppy Day 2013

This is just a very quick post about a day that is very close to my heart - National Puppy Day!  On 23rd March 2013, it will be the 8th anniversary of this day which not only encourages us to appreciate puppies and the joy and magic they bring to our lives, but also tries to educate and raise awareness about adopting puppies and stopping the evil and horrific practices of Puppy Farming.

I found out about National Puppy Day last year and try to do what I can to educate others as my dogs have meant the world to me and were the only things that kept me going through this illness.  No animal deserves to be used and abused by humans just for profit.  

Please, please, please can you read the posts I have written about National Puppy Day and Puppy Mills and forward them to as many people as possible.

Thank you so much!




Thursday 21 March 2013

Being Positive Can Be Dangerous For Your Health

Yesterday I posted an article on Bubblews called 5 Reasons Being Positive Is Wrong, but it got so long that I had to leave so much out especially the part about how being positive can be dangerous for your health.  For anyone that has read my previous posts, you’ll know that in August 2001 I became extremely ill after what I thought was just a case of food poisoning; constant flu symptoms, aching muscles, cognitive problems, joint pain and so much more.  You know how it goes.  I had been trained to consider giving into illness as a weakness, as something that is negative.  As I explain in 5 Reasons Being Positive Is Wrong, trying to be positive just made me more and more ill, but it was only when I was real and honest that I not only felt emotionally better, but my physical symptoms also improved.

Why is it that as a society we are hell bent on forcing ill people to endure with a smile?  I won’t repeat the reasons I give in my Bubblews article, but I just want to say that this ‘being positive’ malarkey is totally ridiculous and puts more stress on an ill person rather than helping.  If you’re ill and you’re honestly happy and positive about it, then more power to you!  Embrace your truth and live like that.  But for the rest of us, it may take tears, chocolate or duvet diving to help us to get through the worst of our symptoms.  

Monday 18 March 2013

Fevre Dream and Sleepless Nights with a Touch of Reverse SAD

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted and what a couple of weeks it has been!  I wish that was because the fortnight had been so wonderfully busy, but actually the opposite is true.  My recent exertions really took their toll on me; since I posted My German Shepherd Carer the day before I went to visit my family, I had to make another trip because one of my sisters had an announcement to make to the whole family (I'm going to be an aunt!).  Both trips were great, but the effects have been too much to bear.  I've been so exhausted and in pain; the slightest activity is having a profound affect on my health and taking a ridiculous amount of time to recover from.  More than anything, this has left me feeling so down; can't I do anything fun without having to pay for it and when the hell did my health get so bad again?

Monday 4 March 2013

ME/CFS is NOT Demonic Possession

It seems completely unnecessary to have to say "ME/CFS is NOT Demonic Possession" but apparently it still needs to be said regularly.  I haven't posted for over a week because as much as I loved visiting my family last week, it really took it out of me.  I managed to get some basic work done this week, but I've been barely functioning and then along came the monthly monster and that did not help at all.  But what has spurred me to write today is an e-mail I received from someone.  The message is extremely ignorant, bigoted and the sheer arrogance of the man to actually send it to me is astounding, but still I am thankful as it has fired me up, after being a numb blob for most of the week.

I regularly write articles (or lenses as they are called) on Squidoo and I write about a variety of topics including recipes, horror movies, book reviews, product reviews, tarot and divination and of course living with a chronic illness.  Every now and then I get someone sending me a message telling me why I have ME/CFS or a chronic illness.  These are not from people who are doctors, fellow sufferers or even any kind of therapists.  These are people that have seen I have a chronic illness and then they proceed to tell me how one of the other interests I have is causing my illness.