Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Human Story

Hello, and welcome to my journal. This is a blog which - as the name would suggest - attempts, both:
-> to chart my experiences as a sufferer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also commonly known as, M.E.), endeavouring to regain full health.
and to...
-> record my reflections about the illness; my feelings (highs and lows); my victories and set-backs. This is, after all, a human story.

I do not set myself up as an expert about this illness - far from it. However, I do know what is to live with this debilitating condition. I am not going to attempt to provide a chronology of my illness, as this, I think, would prove really tedious. Besides, I am sure that I will refer to this in the course of my journal, as I reflect upon the progress (or otherwise!) I have made. Instead, let me lay out here my reasons for starting this journal. They are as follows:

1/ I would like to reach out to others - fellow sufferers and non-sufferers alike - and say, "you are not alone"/"this is what it's like", respectively.
2/ I think that, by charting my own thoughts and feelings on a day-by-day basis, I might start to see trends and patterns that would otherwise remain hidden from myself.
3/ Furthermore, it may be that other people can offer ideas and options which would never otherwise occur to me. Equally, I am always willing to share some of my own strategies.

There are certain aspects of CFS which are common to all sufferers (for instance, varying degrees of fatigue). However, I think it is important to acknowledge that everyone's experience of, and reaction to, this bewildering syndrome (cluster of related symptoms) is unique and individual.

Finally, I just want to make the point that I am more than my illness. I have CFS, but I also had/have a life before and beyond it. I am determined to recover, and to do so - I intuitively suspect - I have to maintain a 'healthy' sense of my own self. I also have to 'imagine' a better future; making sometimes tiny steps which will direct me to that reality.

Thanks for reading this ~ Colin