Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - An Invisible Illness

Image from Google

I have been living with a mild form of Chronic Fatigue for 3 years.

The worst part about it is not that I'm tired the entire time, it's not the aches and pains, it's not the fact that I have to rest after doing any physical activity or anything remotely strenuous.
The worst part is that it is an invisible illness that people don't take seriously, not even some doctors.

If I say that I'm really tired today, what I actually mean is that it's a struggle to do things today. It was a massive task to get myself out of bed. To drive to work took a lot of willpower. My legs feel like jelly and the headache I didn't think would get worse has, as I should have known, got worse.

It is so hard to hear people saying "oh yeah I'm really tired too, I did so many hours work this week" knowing they're thinking that I won't be nearly as tired as they are because I've only done half the hours they've worked. The fact is that I could work for just 5 hours a week and it will affect me. In the evening all I'll want to do is sleep, but I know it won't help because I never feel refreshed when I wake up.

I can't do as many activities as people want me to do because I know that if I do it I might have to take a day off work to recover because I can't get out of bed.

If I have, let's say, a day out, I have to rest the next day, and in the evening, just to feel normal again. Only my version of normal is not your version of normal. My version is still tired, with low energy.

But there are good days. Some days I almost feel my old self again. I feel like I could do anything. Those are the good patches. Sometimes I even can do things and not feel completely drained afterwards. Those are the days I live for.

Image from Google

I remember being able to do things and not feel tired. I think that is one of the worst things about it. But I still hope that one day I'll be able to get back to that. One day I'll be able to feel invigorated by exercise. One day I'll be able to have a day out and drive home afterwards and feel fine. One day.

These are just some thoughts on the matter.
Hopefully, it'll help bring some awareness to those who read it, or for those experiencing something similar, it's always nice to have people who understand.

A to Z: Heroes

The definition of a hero (according to google, where I get all my information) is a person who is admired for courage or noble qualities. It also says something about men and good qualities, but I think heroes are women too.

My personal definition of a hero is someone who looks out for other people, who is selfless and kind and isn't afraid of getting their hands dirty for the good of others. That includes a lot of people. There are in particular some professions that are worthy of the title 'Hero'. These include Doctors and Nurses, Police Officers, Firefighters, Care Workers, Social Workers, anyone doing charity work. Even, if I may be so bold, Politicians. If I missed any other heroic professions out, sorry, but that's all I could think of. Isn't it nice that some people get paid to be heroes?

 Then there are personal heroes. For a lot of us I would think that includes our parents. It definitely does for me. My mum is even a Nurse, so I guess that's doubly heroic. For others personal heroes can be actors or TV personalities, or even musicians. This is where we step into somewhat darker territory. Often it's children and teenagers who idolise these kinds of people, but often they're not the kind of people they should idolise. For example, Justin Bieber. Why, oh why would that kid ever be a role model? So I think perhaps it's more healthy for children and teens to idolise someone they know, because then they see all the human brilliance and weakness inside us, and then use it to their own advantage, instead of following someone they don't know blindly.

Milo Ventimiglia from the TV Show Heroes. Google came up with him because he is so very pretty,
and I thought his face may attract more visitors to my humble site.

There are also action heroes and best of all, super heroes. And the TV Show Heroes. Now that was a great show, everyone should watch that show. Anyway, super heroes are rather wonderful. They teach kids to do right and all of these great heroic qualities, whilst showing their human side (be they human or alien) and weaknesses. They are far more realistic, approachable and down to earth, mostly, than real life celebrities.

This brings me to probably the greatest question of them all.
If you were a superhero, who would you be?
And even greater:
What superpower would you have if you could choose one?

My answers are first and foremost: Possibly Mystique from X-Men, when she's not evil.
And, I'd quite like to hear thoughts. I am very nosy. However manipulating the fabric of time and space would be amazing.

How about you? What power would you have?