Perhaps a little fatigued.

Yesterday I tried to make a cup of tea:

Yep. I may have been a little fatigued.

You wouldn't believe the effort that went into that realisation! :D

And no. It's not like 'tired'. It's a whole HEAP more than tired, as a friend said on facebook:

"This dysautonomia/chronic disease fatigue is absolutely nothing like 'I had a busy day' or 'I am struggling to get enough sleep' fatigue. This is 'the air is too heavy' fatigue. It is 'my brain cells are sweating with effort' fatigue. It is 'divert auxiliary power to life support' fatigue."

When I'm fatigued simply 'living and breathing' is taking up everything I have - anything else (conversing, thinking, following instructions, moving unnecessarily) is so exhausting it makes me feel sick. Or becomes simply impossible.

So if I'm having a fatigued day, please be patient. Resting it out and pacing my activities to ones that I can cope with are key - just getting up and doing stuff when I'm like this isn't helpful and makes getting back to normal take even longer.

This keyring card was inspired by seeing the difference between what I call 'fatigued' and what others understand by it. And seeing that this misunderstanding isn't limited to me, but exists across almost the entire population of people with fatigue-inducing medical conditions or treatments - from Lupus to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, from autonomic dysfunction to chemotherapy side effects.