Indeed the body keeps the score and as we find out as we grow older, sheer force of will cannot alter the need to listen to our bodies and rest., really rest not simply dropping one thing off the list. The self-imposed 'need' to do it all comes with a price. I know this from experience.
And for whomever needs to hear this, responding to comments is not 'rest'.
It’s so important to rest when our body tells us (currently lying under a blanket with my dog! 😅). I find zoom meetings too much sometimes too, after 3 years of long covid which is now more like chronic fatigue as other symptoms have fallen away. It’s hard when we are expected to do normal body things in a weakened body. We need good awareness and boundaries. I don’t think being peri-menopause/menopause age helps either. 🙄🙏🏻
Indeed, as I swill around in the peri/menopause soup with no idea how far down the tunnel I am (womb surgery in my early forties stopped my bleeding altogether so no clue as to ‘cycle’) that also complicates things. I am also in a blanket but alas no dog 🥰. I’m glad that your other symptoms have finally started to subside but yes, the chronic fatigue impact of long covid is only really just beginning to be understood. We are sharing the same blanket 💕
It’s the peri symptoms that are causing this awful unrest for me at the moment, hrt absolutely has helped massively, the struggle of no menstruation for months(9 at the longest) then a sudden bleed and the energy level of a sleeping sloth 🦥
I’ve been forced into rest these last few days by a horrible chesty cold. I can understand it as an infection (passed on no doubt by one of our group in Donegal!) but I also recognise it as the immune system shocked by recent renewed experience of grief and loss. So, time for a multi pronged approach - echinacea, paracetamol, steam, tea and rest. It bugs me, however, just as you have said, when the physical solution to mental distress is not available to us. I know working in my garden and going my book group will ease the mental, but I don’t have the energy - nor do I want to pass on infection to my pals.
Aah thanks Jeannie I have not come across that one, although I’ve read a few on the subject. It’s exactly that - how we manage the mind when the body is weak. I’m turning to reading and light writing, and rest. It’s a joy to be able to connect on here and know we are not alone. I hope you recover strongly and soon🫶 much love my friend 💕
Ah Emma 😔 I’m with you. I will read both of these today as I lay on the bed blasting aircon (on holiday) ill health doesn’t seem to understand ‘vacation’…
Awww rubbish Emma. So easy to knock it all out of balance. I’m experiencing some kind of blip too. In bed today at my cousins in Edinburgh -as mentioned above, it gets no kind of holiday memo. Wasn’t well a few days last week either (or the one before). I thought I was coming out the other side of the last few months but this is the most days impacted yet, even though symptoms are mild (phew). Hope we all feel much better soon 🙏
It’s such a fine line - where to push slightly forward and when we need to pull back. It sounds like, through a lot of trial and error, you know what you need Emma. I mostly know too but then I need to learn the lesson yet one more time and remind myself it’s ok to need more rest than the next person.
If I could take that voice out of my head that tells me how I ‘should’ be it would likely be much smoother sailing. I’m working on it!
Oh Donna it's exactly that - learning the lesson yet one more time!! I still keep finding myself there... it is a work in progress and always will be. Thank you for your thoughtful words ❤️
Dear Emma, thanks for sharing this. I am still exploring my ongoing fatigue, the why and how to cope with it. For instance, at this moment we are making a road trip through the Vesterålen and Lofoten, and I am still not recovered from our first day, where we had to get up early to go to the airport, and we arrived late in the evening in our hotel, where I had a bad nights sleep due to the midnightsun we wouldn’t miss… This is not a kind of holiday where a day’s rest is “possible”, because there is much to see and do, and with a partner who wants it almost all, and I understand it, it’s a search to get the needed rest…
Dear Ivan, I can completely empathise with how you are feeling. I think it's really important to work out what the particular triggers are for us as individuals. For example I know that driving causes me huge fatigue. Also travel - which whilst it energises me hugely from a mental perspective, does take its toll physically. I have learnt to travel in a different way and I absolutely have to build in rest. For me, if I don't prioritise that then it just builds up and I end up not being well enough to have a choice in the matter. I hope you can find a way of travelling more gently just for a day or two to ensure you stay well....🫶
Indeed the body keeps the score and as we find out as we grow older, sheer force of will cannot alter the need to listen to our bodies and rest., really rest not simply dropping one thing off the list. The self-imposed 'need' to do it all comes with a price. I know this from experience.
And for whomever needs to hear this, responding to comments is not 'rest'.
xx
It’s so important to rest when our body tells us (currently lying under a blanket with my dog! 😅). I find zoom meetings too much sometimes too, after 3 years of long covid which is now more like chronic fatigue as other symptoms have fallen away. It’s hard when we are expected to do normal body things in a weakened body. We need good awareness and boundaries. I don’t think being peri-menopause/menopause age helps either. 🙄🙏🏻
Indeed, as I swill around in the peri/menopause soup with no idea how far down the tunnel I am (womb surgery in my early forties stopped my bleeding altogether so no clue as to ‘cycle’) that also complicates things. I am also in a blanket but alas no dog 🥰. I’m glad that your other symptoms have finally started to subside but yes, the chronic fatigue impact of long covid is only really just beginning to be understood. We are sharing the same blanket 💕
I take maximum hrt and still have symptoms but it is much better than it was. Thanks for reminding me to get Wimbledon on! 😅
It’s the peri symptoms that are causing this awful unrest for me at the moment, hrt absolutely has helped massively, the struggle of no menstruation for months(9 at the longest) then a sudden bleed and the energy level of a sleeping sloth 🦥
It’s like a rollercoaster, without the fun 😕
oh yes - the sleeping sloth. We must be related...
Have you read this? I found it helpful in understanding the mind body connection. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Molecules-Emotion-Why-You-Feel/dp/0671033972.
I’ve been forced into rest these last few days by a horrible chesty cold. I can understand it as an infection (passed on no doubt by one of our group in Donegal!) but I also recognise it as the immune system shocked by recent renewed experience of grief and loss. So, time for a multi pronged approach - echinacea, paracetamol, steam, tea and rest. It bugs me, however, just as you have said, when the physical solution to mental distress is not available to us. I know working in my garden and going my book group will ease the mental, but I don’t have the energy - nor do I want to pass on infection to my pals.
Aah thanks Jeannie I have not come across that one, although I’ve read a few on the subject. It’s exactly that - how we manage the mind when the body is weak. I’m turning to reading and light writing, and rest. It’s a joy to be able to connect on here and know we are not alone. I hope you recover strongly and soon🫶 much love my friend 💕
Thank you for your book suggestion, Jeannie. I just downloaded the audio and am finding it fascinating. 😊
Ah Emma 😔 I’m with you. I will read both of these today as I lay on the bed blasting aircon (on holiday) ill health doesn’t seem to understand ‘vacation’…
Sending you love, light and healing energy 🫶
Oh honey, so sorry you feel like that on vacation, but it knows no boundaries. Much healing light and love back to you ❤️✨🫶
Thank you for sharing this. Sending love xx
Awww rubbish Emma. So easy to knock it all out of balance. I’m experiencing some kind of blip too. In bed today at my cousins in Edinburgh -as mentioned above, it gets no kind of holiday memo. Wasn’t well a few days last week either (or the one before). I thought I was coming out the other side of the last few months but this is the most days impacted yet, even though symptoms are mild (phew). Hope we all feel much better soon 🙏
thinking of you lovely, hope you are coming out of it ❤️
It’s such a fine line - where to push slightly forward and when we need to pull back. It sounds like, through a lot of trial and error, you know what you need Emma. I mostly know too but then I need to learn the lesson yet one more time and remind myself it’s ok to need more rest than the next person.
If I could take that voice out of my head that tells me how I ‘should’ be it would likely be much smoother sailing. I’m working on it!
Thanks for this great essay.
Oh Donna it's exactly that - learning the lesson yet one more time!! I still keep finding myself there... it is a work in progress and always will be. Thank you for your thoughtful words ❤️
I feel like I found my people. Thank you, Emma. The sharing of your words and experience make me feel so seen and means the world to me. ❤️
Oh Demian this makes me so happy. Sometimes we feel so invisible but we are not alone. You are so welcome here my friend 💕
Dear Emma, your first extra article, is still behind the paywall. Is this what you mentioned?
Do you mean the one titled 'Whose body is it anyway?' This should be out of paywall for another few weeks? Do let me know.
Hi, Emma, the two extra articles seem to be for paid subscribers only…
Thanks Ivan - I'll double check the links
Dear Emma, thanks for sharing this. I am still exploring my ongoing fatigue, the why and how to cope with it. For instance, at this moment we are making a road trip through the Vesterålen and Lofoten, and I am still not recovered from our first day, where we had to get up early to go to the airport, and we arrived late in the evening in our hotel, where I had a bad nights sleep due to the midnightsun we wouldn’t miss… This is not a kind of holiday where a day’s rest is “possible”, because there is much to see and do, and with a partner who wants it almost all, and I understand it, it’s a search to get the needed rest…
Dear Ivan, I can completely empathise with how you are feeling. I think it's really important to work out what the particular triggers are for us as individuals. For example I know that driving causes me huge fatigue. Also travel - which whilst it energises me hugely from a mental perspective, does take its toll physically. I have learnt to travel in a different way and I absolutely have to build in rest. For me, if I don't prioritise that then it just builds up and I end up not being well enough to have a choice in the matter. I hope you can find a way of travelling more gently just for a day or two to ensure you stay well....🫶
Eek…guilty… ❤️❤️❤️
No, not guilty - kind and generous!