Tag Archives: Stress management

Mindfulness practice: The Raisin (NHS Mindfulness course week one part 2)

Posted in CFS Index, CFS Tips, My NHS Journey by

In my previous post I gave an overview of my first session participating in the mindfulness course offered by the NHS Bristol CFS/ME clinic (link), this post will focus on one particular practice we did in this first session, one that I have aptly named: The Raisin!

Background

This is quite a common practice, it is classified as an informal as you can do it with any food or drink as part of your day, my understanding is that an informal practice is one that you don’t have to set aside to do an activity specially, it is more about doing things that you do everyday mindfully.

The Practice

We were each given a couple of raisins, we were told to really look, smell, listen, feel and taste them, simple right? Continue reading →

A Reflection of my chronically ill 2014

Posted in CFS Tips by

Another year has gone by, and now is the perfect opportunity to reflect and build a plan for next year.

I think whether you are suffering from a chronic illness like myself or as fit as a fiddle it is really good to look back and reflect and have some achievable goals for 2015 (Link- Coming Soon).

So I have decided to compile a list of questions to help me review my previous year, if you fancy going through and doing this exercise I would love to hear your responses in comments or feel free to just put pen to paper 🙂

Continue reading →

2015 the time to accept the things you cannot change and the courage to change the things you can.

Posted in Personal updates by

New years is a great time to sit and reflect both on the year gone by, what you have and haven’t achieved, where you are as a person right now but also helps you to focus various aspects of your life that are in your control.
One of my favourite quotes of all time is:

Give me the Strength to; Accept the things you cannot change, give me the courage to change the things I can & the wisdom to know the difference.

Diana Porter Sibyls

Continue reading →

NHS From Theory to Practice Course for CFS/ME Part 1- Recap and Pro’s of Self Management

Posted in My NHS Journey by

In previous posts I have talked about my positive experience with the NHS and having CFS/ME from my:

  • Speedy diagnosis from my GP and referral to Bristol specialist clinic (Link)
  • NHS Foundation course where we got information on: CBT, GET, Activity Management (Link), Rest, Relaxation (Link), Sleep and Stress Management (Link)
  • To my second 1-2-1 where I asked for further information on: Phased return to work (Link) and movement/fitness (Link)

It was in my second 1-2-1 that I was offered to attend the clinics advanced course names from Theory to Practice which was held over 5 sessions, and it is the first of these that I am going to discuss now. Continue reading →

Toby Morrisons 5 CFS Pillars of Health (Toby Morrison UK Seminar Pt 4)

Posted in CFS Tips by

So in previous parts of the seminar, Toby talked briefly about what CFS/ME is and how and potential causes (Link), Toby’s Triangle of success: Survival, Accept, Adjust, Believe & Achieve (Link) and the effects of stress and mindset to recovery (Link).

All the above are great, but how do we get past the acceptance stage and start adjusting, how do we keep a positive mindset and hope if there is nothing we can do to help ourselves or we think we have no hope of ever getting better?

In most cases this simply is not true, there are things we can do to help ourselves, it may not mean recovering fully from CFS/ME but giving you access to a better quality of life. Continue reading →

My NHS experience with CFS – Part 4 (NHS CFS Foundation Course 2- Sleep and Stress Management)

Posted in My NHS Journey by

As part of the North Bristol Trusts program for CFS/ME they can send you on various courses, to begin I was sent on the foundation course, which consists of two 1 1/2 hour long sessions.

I wanted to document the whole process, as I really had no idea what to expect and I am aware that a lot of people do not have access to such services:

In the first session we talked about: Symptoms, CBT, GET, Activity Management (Link). The second session I have split into two posts, this being the second the first however was mainly on rest and relaxation (Link).

The main focus on this session however revolved around Sleep Management and then talked a little about Stress Management at the end.

Please click the link below if you wish to download the foundation course 2 hand out provided: Continue reading →