I've had a rough few days. Fatigue and pain levels have been much higher than usual, and doing anything involving concentration is hideously difficult. I've had to cut right back on how much I've been doing. I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps I'm fighting off a cold or infection, or maybe I've been overdoing it for a while without noticing - or perhaps it's something I haven't thought of yet.
Either way, it makes me feel guilty.
Like I should be doing more, and I'm just being lazy for not.
But no.
If I can't function, then it's OK to rest. It's OK to reduce my activity levels to a level I can cope with, and just do little tasks (or little sections of a task) and then return to resting before symptoms overwhelm me.
So today I am reminding myself: It is OK to need to recharge. It is necessary. And by gently pacing myself and recharging I will return to my normal much sooner than if I try to push through it and exhaust myself even further.
Today I choose to invest in my future.
I choose to recharge.
Either way, it makes me feel guilty.
Like I should be doing more, and I'm just being lazy for not.
But no.
If I can't function, then it's OK to rest. It's OK to reduce my activity levels to a level I can cope with, and just do little tasks (or little sections of a task) and then return to resting before symptoms overwhelm me.
So today I am reminding myself: It is OK to need to recharge. It is necessary. And by gently pacing myself and recharging I will return to my normal much sooner than if I try to push through it and exhaust myself even further.
Today I choose to invest in my future.
I choose to recharge.
Ack! It's hard isn't it, my first response is to beat myself up, but actually, I have done the right thing by taking Saturday completely off and snuggling on the sofa with my dog and several quilts and a hat on my head. I felt so much better on Sunday as was able to continue to make decisions about looking after myself, but doing things which required a little more energy and brainpower than the total sofa day that Saturday was. And now today, I'm back working again, but making sure I take regular breaks and the full lunch hour. It's so hard to do, writing off a whole weekned, but it is much needed and as my husband says 'it's my job to take care of myself.'
ReplyDeleteWhich includes resting and recharging
It's almost like you read my mind .... Here's to a rapid recharge.
ReplyDeleteI so get the guilty feeling, I think a lot of us have been very active before the condition took hold so it's hard for us to switch off without feeling guilty.
ReplyDeleteMy problem now is most days are rest days as the smallest thing has me exhausted. My house is a tip!