Weekly recovery guidance - ME/CFS and related illnesses
- s-porter4
- Aug 12, 2025
- 3 min read
Weekly inspirational quotes, guidance & tips to support recovery from ME/CFS, Long Covid, Fibromyalgia and related illnesses.
Week 14 - 12/8/2025 (Post 16)
What matters most?
On Sunday I was listening to the most recent album from my favourite musical artist. The artist is Ben Folds and the album is entitled 'What matters most'. I had also seen a post on Facebook, where the person was asking for advice on the most important factors and strategies for recovery. It got me thinking and I decided that it was a perfect topic for next post.
There is some substance behind the list below. As well as recovering from being bedbound in three years, I have watched/listened to and read over 400 recovery stories. I have also delved deeply into the reasons that people stay stuck (or even decline), and to date I have done over 1000 hours of research going as far back as Florence Nightingale.
Of course there will be people who will cite strategies that are not on the list below as after all, everyone is on their own journey with these illnesses. However, I do believe that this top ten is very representative of the patterns, trends and insights that I have discovered on my recovery journey, my significant research and my work with clients from different countries. I tried ranking them in order, but I found it far too difficult.
Key strategy
The overarching factor is to minimise stress on the brain and body. I am referring here to anything that puts pressure on an already stressed nervous system. This includes physical, mental and emotional stressors.
My top ten strategies for recovery
To spend time researching so that you have clarity on why you became ill and what is going on in your body. From here you can develop a clear and consistent plan/strategy that will lead to progress over time. Your plan needs to be used as a framework, but you also need to be intuitive and not too rigid.
Find as many opportunities for joy and engagement each day. Yes, you might be restricted, but there will be things that you are able to do that make your heart sing. Vary your activities and switch frequently. This needs to bespoke to your needs.
Responding well to symptoms and stressors that arise. You won't be able to prevent challenging things from arising, but you can control how you respond. Calmness, curiosity, being unbothered, telling yourself that you are not broken is a lot better than panic, anger, frustration and guilt. The brain really doesn't like the latter. If this becomes a normal reaction, then protectional symptoms will continue.
Belief and acceptance - To truly learn to accept the situation that you are in. Tell yourself that this is temporary. Let go of any remorse, guilt and sadness which is related to your old life, as these are only going to keep you stuck for longer.
Learn to truly relax. There are lots of ways in which this can be done. It will look different for different people e.g. meditation, yoga, being in nature, watching your favourite comedy, listening to classical music, breathing techniques, somatic tracking, keeping your body relaxed, being present or practising mindfulness, to name just a few!
Treat all symptoms as a whole. You are not trying to treat individual symptoms (there are over 100 recorded!) and your focus needs to be on the root cause i.e. a scared brain and dysfunctional nervous system.
Establish your baseline. What can you do that is not going to increase symptoms? Gradually, overtime you will raise your baseline to another level. Pace yourself as this is a marathon and not a sprint!
Address historic issues and fears that might be holding you back. For example, this could be past trauma, deep seated emotions and personality traits that have not served you well.
Learn how to become present and mindful. You might need to set a goal for the future, or reflect on the past, in order to help you in the future, but return to the present as soon as possible.
Celebrate your progress no matter how big or small. Record your wins each week or month. Practice gratitude for things in your life that some would only dream of, such as having hot water, a trusted and loved partner or friend, food on your table, to be able to walk or to listen to the birds. Stay strong, you can do this!
Until next week
Stuart
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