Recovery guidance/support/tips
SJ Porter Coaching - mecfsrecoverycoaching.com
Weekly inspirational quotes, guidance & tips to support recovery from ME/CFS, Long Covid, Fibromyalgia and related illnesses.
Week 6 - 24/6/2025 (Post 10)
"Do you have a Baseline?"
A very common and frustrating aspect of these illnesses is that some progress is made, but this can be followed by a setback, relapse, or even a major crash. So why does this happen? In my experience of working with clients and from research that I have undertaken, it normally comes down to four things;
Being in the wrong mental state when trying to expand activity
Too much of an increase in activity over a short period of time
Increasing activity at the wrong time
Not getting the right balance when increasing activity e.g. too much physical, or too much mental/emotional.
An excellent way to avoid these major setbacks is to establish a baseline and to gradually raise that baseline over time to a new capacity threshold.
What is a Baseline?
A baseline is what you are able to do at any given time, without suffering an obvious increase in symptoms.
This needs to be approached from an emotional (e.g. a challenging conversation), physical (e.g. walking, emptying the dishwasher) and mental/cognitive perspective (e.g. reading, watching TV). Consideration needs to be given to balancing these three areas over a day and over a week. Unexpected things can arise e.g. a stressful family situation and the baseline will need to be adjusted accordingly.
I work with clients to establish their baseline. Once they have stabilised, then it is a case of sticking to their baseline for a few weeks/months and gradually increasing activity in a sustained, measurable way. The focus is always on avoiding a significant relapse and not scaring the brain too much!
Hope is half of healing!
Until next week.
Comments