“Recovery is not a race; you don’t have to feel guilty if it takes you longer than you thought it would”

Something I often tell clients is that recovery is not a race. Placing high expectations to get well quickly is like forcing the sun to shine; these things are simply out of our control.

I really do believe that when it comes to chronic illness, we need to be patient with ourselves and give time for our bodies to repair naturally, rather than expecting miracle fixes.

I do not kid anybody who comes to see me in clinic into thinking that working with me is a quick process… if you want to make long term changes to your health and wellness, this is most definitely going to take time.

In my own experience of M.E, I would place huge anxiety and pressure on myself to get well and would often beat myself up if I wasn’t seeing improvements quick enough or that I was doing something wrong with my diet or lifestyle. As I now realise, this anxiety and strain I placed on my recovery timescale became a huge hindrance to my health returning rather than the catalyst I thought it would be.

Remember to focus always on how far you have come (small steps most definitely do count!) and try to understand what the experience has taught you overall.

If you are still on your journey do not be alarmed when you experience a minor setback here and there… remember it is often one step forward and two steps back! Knowing that it takes a long time for the body to become chronically unwell, so having the patience to know that it can also take a bit of time for our body to repair itself.

If you have had a couple of setbacks with your health then I hope you can take away a few things from this post. These are: patience, kindness and understanding.

• Patience: be patient. Try to avoid worrying about the time its taking you to reach your health goals.
• Kindness: be kind to your body. It is always communicating with you. A loving relationship towards yourself is most always going to facilitate healing.
• Understanding: understanding the process. Chronic illness is not about coming down with the flu and then bouncing back within a week. In chronic conditions we need to understand the nature of what we are dealing with, and that long term measures need to be in place as a way to tackle everything.

I hope this information helps you or anybody else out there going through difficulty… please share with anybody this could help.

We are also holding an event surrounding the chronic illness of M.E./CFS, click here to read more and get tickets.

Be mindful. Live well. Glow.