Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia
I was in the best physical, mental, and emotional shape of my life and experiencing great business success in 1996 when I was in a car accident that changed everything. That accident triggered chronic pain, migraines, and constant fatigue. The symptoms became increasingly debilitating over the next six years, during which I was exhausted. At times, I spent 2-3 days a week in bed.
FINALLY – after years of pain and fatigue without much relief – a doctor diagnosed me with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, two conditions that are not curable and had limited treatment options in the early 2000s. I had mixed feelings about my diagnosis: I felt relief that I finally knew what was wrong with me, but I also felt hopeless. I was afraid I would be a prisoner of my own body, forever.
I never knew when I was going to have a good day or a bad day, which made it virtually impossible to plan anything. Because I prided myself on being dependable, I wasn’t willing to make promises I wasn’t sure I could keep. Consequently, I did very little and withdrew further and further from the world outside.
About 10 years ago, when symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue ran my life, I went to my mother’s house for Christmas Eve. My family was all gathered there and enjoying the feast, but I was feeling tired – so tired that my head almost fell into my plate.
I was so embarrassed. I just could not stay awake. I got up from the table and barely made it to the living room couch before I passed out from fatigue.
And I was out cold on the couch for the rest of the night.
That’s when I knew…NO MORE!!! I wasn’t going to miss out on another holiday, another family gathering, another anything. I committed to doing whatever it took to take charge of my symptoms and take back my life. And I did!
I spent the next 5 years and tens of thousands of dollars in my search for anything that would make an impact on my symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. I hired an incredible life coach. She supported me in my freedom from fibromyalgia journey. This work with my coach led me to an insight that changed my life. I realized that THE POWER TO GET HEALTHY IS WITHIN ME!
I learned to work with my body rather than against it. I began taking steps to listen to and give my body what it needed. My decision to work with a life coach had changed everything and helped me take charge of my symptoms, instead of my symptoms ruling me. Although paying attention to my body did not come easy for me, I was determined to get better.
Life is amazing now. I am healthy! I get to travel at least once a month across the country to do the things I love, like I just spent two weeks in CT for the holidays and in January I am going to a business training in Los Angeles. I’ve gone on hiking trips in Sedona, Bryce, and Zion. And when not traveling I walk 5 miles every other day. I am no longer afraid of committing to things as I’m now able to accomplish whatever I set out to do – especially when I ask for support. Which is where you come in…
I’ve set a stretch goal to support 30 women who have fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome with a “Take Back Your Life” Consultation over the next 30 days. I know how essential support is so I’m offering it in a big way!
In this private 60-minute phone consultation, we’ll:
- Identify the biggest challenges in their journey with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue
- Get immediate support to begin addressing those challenges
- Find hope and explore possibilities for getting free of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue
- Discover how we might work together moving forward to lessen pain and take charge of their symptoms and their life
Do you know women who are dealing with fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome? If so, please share this post with them. If you have fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome, click on the link below to schedule your consultation.
Thank you in advance for your support in sharing this post and helping me reach more women. Together, let’s make 2017 the year that more women take back their life and experience freedom from fibromyalgia!
To schedule your complimentary “Take Back Your Life” Consultation, click here.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment below.
Whitney
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia
After I received the diagnoses of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, I decided I wasn’t going to let them stop me. So, each new year I’d make a resolution that this was the year I was going to beat both of these conditions. But as the year progressed, and the symptoms overwhelmed me, my faith wavered. I wondered if my resolutions would ever work.
I judged my doctors: their support didn’t create the changes I desired. I judged myself: something must be wrong with me to not be able to make my resolution “come true.” Then I realized, although my resolution was focused on change, it was all about something that was “wrong” with me. When I didn’t accomplish what I set out to do, I felt like a failure. So I stopped making new year’s resolutions.
And I started seeking other ways to inspire myself without the “wrongness” and judgments of resolutions.
I listened to Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book, “The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way.” As Dr. Dyer states, “our intentions create our reality.” As I understood it, nothing happens without first having intention.
An intention is an objective that guides our actions. It is self-directed and purposeful, with room to change and adapt to circumstances. An intention is more about doing what you want to do. It’s also attainable, taking into account the bigger picture of who you want to be and the steps necessary to get there. Intentions are a commitment to align our actions with our values and our purpose – they reflect who we are as people and make us feel energized, fulfilled and in balance.
Intentions felt much more inspiring to me than resolutions, so I began to create my own. My first New Year’s intention was to adopt a positive attitude. This was inspired by another piece of Wayne Dyer’s wisdom that attitude is everything, and a positive one gives you the power to create your reality.
I brainstormed with my coach all different ways to be positive. I created a list and posted it in my house. Then I’d look at it every day and use one of those ideas to tap into a positive attitude. For example, I listened to uplifting music or watched a comedy, and I started a gratitude journal.
At first it was difficult to come up with daily entries for my gratitude journal, but after using my positivity list every day for a week it became easier to be grateful. After a few weeks I felt more optimistic about my ability to take charge of my symptoms. And over time I began to feel less pain and more consistent energy.
Creating intentions has changed everything for me! I am in a wonderful place where I have freedom from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. And now I can reflect on what new intentions I’ll make happen in 2017…because “our intentions create our reality.”
What’s your 2017 intention when it comes to fibromyalgia?
It was so valuable for me to have a coach to partner with and help me follow through on living my intentions. This is why I am offering a complimentary 60-minute “Take Back Your Life” Consultation to you, to see how I can support you in making and living your intentions.
Click here to claim your spot now.
Give yourself the gift of support in 2017!
Whitney
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment below.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia
I remember one Christmas Eve when I had been invited to a neighbor’s house for Christmas Eve potluck…AND I was expected at my sister’s house for a Christmas brunch the next morning. At that point in my life I was in denial, still believing that I could do anything that I wanted while ignoring the messages my body was sending me in the form of pain and fatigue.
I was also feeling extremely overwhelmed, which was my usual reality since my big car accident AND the onset of fibromyalgia. Since fibromyalgia had entered my life, I continuously ran behind schedule and I wasn’t able to get everything done as I would have liked. And today was no different…I still had errands to run and gifts to wrap.
So I pushed myself to go to the store to pick up some last minute gifts and the ingredients for a dessert that I planned to make. When I got home I made the dessert and put it in the oven. Then I began to wrap gifts.
Of course being a perfectionist did not make life any easier, plus it was painful bending over to wrap gifts. It got to a point where I was so exhausted from running around, putting pressure on myself to get everything done, and being angry at my body for being in pain, that I began to doze off while wrapping gifts.
All of a sudden it hit me that I couldn’t stay up for one more minute, and I barely made it to my bed before I collapsed.
That night I slept for 18 hours!
I missed my neighbor’s party, AND I did NOT wake up the next morning. By the time I got to my sister’s house, brunch was long over and it was late afternoon. Most of the gifts had been opened (except for mine) and a good portion of the guests had already left! I was extremely frustrated with my body, and I swore that it would never control me again…that I would prevail the next time!!!
When I look back on situations like this, I realize how I was fooling myself. I wanted to be “normal” again and thought that I could just will it to be so. It took several more years of fighting my body before I realized that what I was doing just wasn’t working! That new understanding made all the difference for me, because it started me on my journey to find freedom from fibromyalgia.
Now that I am in charge of my symptoms and get to enjoy the holiday festivities once again, I am passionate about helping other women with fibromyalgia, like you, do the same.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY CHRISTMAS IN DENIAL
I would have done things differently if I had learned the lessons below before that Christmas:
1. To Prioritize My Time: I would have bought a pre-made dish for potluck instead of spending the time and exerting the energy to make one from scratch.
2. To Make Wise Choices: I would have realized that I only had the energy to attend one event, because they were so close together. At least then I would have been able to enjoy that one activity, instead of missing both.
3. To Not Be Ruled By Perfectionism: If I had let go of being perfect, I would have exerted less energy trying to make sure the edges were all straight and the ribbons were all perfect when wrapping the gifts.
4. To Get Support: I could have asked friends or family for help wrapping the gifts and I could have learned all the above invaluable lessons just by working with a life coach sooner, rather than later.
Find out how to create more ease and enjoyment this holiday season. Be my guest on my upcoming complimentary webinar, “5 Ways To Ease Your Pain And Fatigue So You Enjoy The Holidays” – so rather than fatigue taking over and missing out (like I did) – you get to participate in and enjoy the upcoming holidays.
Be sure to put the date on your calendar right now:
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 2016
TIME: 2:00pm EST (GMT-5:00) US and Canada
And don’t forget to sign up at this link: www.IntuitWisdom.com/webinar so we can send you the details for accessing the webinar. I look forward to seeing you there!
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia
About 10 years ago, when symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue ran my life, I went to my mother’s house for Christmas Eve. My family was all gathered there and enjoying the feast, but I was feeling tired – so tired that my head almost fell into my plate.
I was so embarrassed. I jerked my head up but no matter what I did, I just could not stay awake. I had to get up from the table and barely made it to the living room couch before I passed out from fatigue.
Christmas went on around me…my family’s great conversations and laughter at the post-feast of amazing desserts, my uncle playing on the keyboard, and everyone singing Christmas carols, all except for me!
I was out cold on the couch for the rest of the night.
That’s when I knew…NO MORE!!! I wasn’t going to miss out on another holiday, another family gathering, another anything. I committed to doing whatever it took to take charge of my symptoms and take back my life. And I did!
I spent the next 5 years and tens of thousands of dollars in my search for anything that would make an impact on my symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. And this investment of time and money paid off!!! I am now in charge of my symptoms and get to enjoy the holiday festivities once again.
And that’s why I’m so passionate to share my tips and tools with you in my upcoming webinar, “5 Ways To Ease Your Pain And Fatigue So You Enjoy The Holidays.” This is my gift to you – so rather than fatigue taking over and missing out (like I used to) – you get to enjoy the upcoming holidays.
So be sure to put the date on your calendar right now:
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 2016
TIME: 2:00pm EST (GMT-5:00) US and Canada
I’m creating this free training specifically for women, like you, with fibromyalgia.
You won’t want to miss this! Join me and learn how you can enjoy the festivities and connect with your family again…singing along with them!! 🙂
Sign up Here: Webinar
Warmly,
Whitney
P.S. I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment below.
