Coping with fatigue is, I am realising, very difficult. At this moment I have little energy, I want to do activities and pace myself accordingly to achieve them resting a lot in between because management strategy is a must.
Particularly the past few days have been hard to cope with, for me activities combining physical exertion and cognitive thought and concentration start of fatigue. This can be as simple as writing with a pen, long drawn conversation because I have to repeat my self or rephrase, I had such a conversation the other day and when I realised I made excuses to leave because I knew it was starting and I had get home before it hit me bad.
I must say that that going through the days of routine helps, not doing "nothing" keeping active I feel most important but be aware when to say no to yourself. A self awareness of a debilitating condition is important for self preservation and energy "recharge", saying no avoids pushing yourself into further trouble with fatigue, don't push yourself and this is something I am finding difficult to learn to do.
Fatigue is like a heavy weight pushing down, it is like gravity has increased on your body, and your muscles ache. You can have little strength to move or do anything when it hits you hard, it more than tiredness.
I find it debilitating in that it affects my ability to learn, doing skills practice in counselling was a push as I felt tired already but the added muscle aches and the feeling of weight made it that more tiring to think and concentrate.
We cannot avoid situations like this, we have to keep active, live our lives - learn, work be social or we would fade into the pit. Managing your fatigue can lessen the effect, give some days I will feel the worst and cannot be bothered to move because of the effects but the I am not going to miss out on something that I want do or that can help me like go on a photoshoot, go to Momentum Skills or physio.
I have learned not to do too much in a day and pace myself, breaking that activity up into manageable chunks and rest in between. When I am out and about I sometimes sit and have a coffee or tea that way refuelling as well as resting which is another good way to manage your fatigue. Drinking enough through the day is as important as ever to keep you hydrated and little meals throughout the day can be a way of managing your diet making sure you get the required protein, nutrients and energy levels to sustain you.
Organise and plan your day and activities to help you manage your fatigue, take control don't let fatigue manage you.