Before I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I had a tendency to be quite closed minded to things that fell outside my comfort zone. Idea’s or concepts that didn’t fit in with how I saw the world could either get ignored or attacked as crazy. I had this impression that I knew what I needed to know.
Now, that’s not to say I ignored everything new or foreign, because I didn’t. I’m a curious guy and I enjoy learning new things, it’s more that I only sought out the unknown in area’s that weren’t actually that unknown. I chose to develop my knowledge in area’s that I already had a strong grounding in.
Post CFS and I’m less like that. I was lucky, in that I had some people show me what can be achieved when you become open-minded to all ideas and concepts. I don’t have to accept or take on board every single one of those ideas or concepts, but by acknowledging that those viewpoints are valid, I’m free to pick the ones that I think are appropriate for my life.
And that’s why I write this blog. I’m hoping that others can learn from my mistakes, and start to see the world differently from how they’ve seen it in the past.
I recognise that people are diagnosed with CFS for many different reasons, more than I can probably comprehend. I’ve been lucky in that some people have contacted me to share their stories, as it’s helped to remind me of this.
I respect that what worked for me might not work for everyone, but the whole point of this blog is to try new thing and not give up if something doesn’t work.
I tried a whole bunch of stuff until I landed on something that worked, The Lightning Process. I know The Lightning Process doesn’t suit everyone. It worked for me because I had solved my medical issue and so my body was ‘healthy’ and receptive. In my case it wasn’t a health issue, but more of a mental health issue, that was holding me back. I was duing things like anxiety and stress, although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, so when The Lightning Process highlighted that fact I could take immediate action. It’s why I can make the bold claim; ‘I beat CFS in 3 days’, and not feel guilty about it.
I’ve copped my fair share of criticism for that comment. One person told me that I must not have had real CFS if I thought I could defeat it in 3 days.
Pre-CFS me would have gone on a rant and defended myself, but one of the things I learnt during my recovery is that I can’t control how other people will respond to a given situation. The only thing I can control is how I react.
So post-CFS me lets that comment go. If anything I actually feel sorry for that person because I recognise that closed minded attitude, it’s one I also had for a long time and all it did was hold me back.
We should celebrate every time we hear about someone who has beaten this horrible condition. We should share this with everyone that we know and we should try to learn from their experience. Maybe some of it will apply to us and help us on our journey to be healthier and happier people.
So with that in mind, my next blog post is going to take the form of a list that I’ll update whenever I have something new to add. I’d really love it if people would contribute to it, either by emailing me or posting a comment below, sharing their success stories. Hopefully we can get people who have recovered to also share their stories and contribute to a knowledge base for anyone who’s interested.
If you know anyone who might fit into this category then let them know about the blog. It feels good to share idea’s and thoughts, to talk to others about their experiences. So let’s get the conversation started.