Tag: mindfulness

Spring into Renewal: Thriving with Chronic Pain and Fatigue This Season! By Irene Roth

by irenesroth

Spring is a season of renewal, but for those living with chronic pain and fatigue, the transition can be challenging. While the world bursts into bloom, you might feel stuck in the lingering grip of winter weariness. However, with a few intentional adjustments, you can harness the energy of spring and step into the season with renewed vitality. Here’s how to make the most of the longer days and fresh beginnings.

1. Embrace Gentle Movement

The arrival of spring invites us outdoors, but overexertion can trigger flare-ups. Instead of diving into strenuous activities, ease into gentle movement. Try short, mindful walks in nature, gentle stretching, or restorative yoga. The key is to move in a way that nourishes your body rather than depletes it. If outdoor exercise is an option, soak up some vitamin D while practicing deep breathing to enhance relaxation and circulation.

2. Prioritize Restorative Sleep

With daylight savings time and shifting daylight patterns, sleep schedules can get thrown off balance. Quality sleep is crucial for those with chronic pain and fatigue, so create a bedtime routine that signals your body to wind down. Dim the lights an hour before bed, reduce screen time, and practice relaxation techniques such as guided meditation or deep breathing. Consider blackout curtains or a sleep mask to improve sleep quality, ensuring your body gets the rest it needs to embrace spring’s energy.

3. Spring Clean Your Environment (Gently!)

A clutter-free space can improve mental clarity and reduce stress. However, tackling an entire spring-cleaning project in one go isn’t realistic for those with chronic conditions. Instead, break tasks into small, manageable segments. Declutter one drawer at a time or do light dusting while seated. Choose non-toxic, scent-free cleaning products to avoid triggering sensitivities. Creating a fresh and peaceful space can uplift your mood and reduce sensory overwhelm.

4. Nourish with Seasonal Foods

Spring brings a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables that can support your well-being. Incorporate anti-inflammatory foods such as berries, leafy greens, and omega-3-rich sources like walnuts and salmon. Hydration is equally important—herbal teas and infused water with citrus or cucumber can make drinking water more enjoyable. A well-balanced diet helps combat fatigue and inflammation, giving your body the nutrients it needs to thrive.

5. Set Energizing Yet Realistic Goals

Spring often feels like a time for fresh starts, but setting overly ambitious goals can lead to frustration. Instead, set small, achievable goals that align with your energy levels. Whether it’s spending five minutes outside each day, journaling, or trying a new hobby at a gentle pace, celebrating small victories can boost confidence and motivation without overwhelming your system.

6. Connect with Nature and Community

Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and improve well-being. Even if a full nature walk isn’t feasible, sitting outside with a warm beverage or tending to potted plants can provide a soothing connection to the season. Additionally, reconnecting with supportive friends, online communities, or local support groups can help you feel less isolated and more encouraged.

Thus, the spring season symbolizes renewal, but that doesn’t mean you have to rush into major changes. Honor your body’s pace and find joy in small, intentional shifts. By embracing gentle movement, prioritizing rest, nourishing yourself, setting realistic goals, and connecting with nature, you can welcome the new season with balance and grace. This spring, let renewal come on your own terms—one soft, steady step at a time.

Happy spring, everyone!

Practice Self-Care

by irenesroth

Individuals living with fibro and other chronic conditions may have a hard time practicing self-care. We may find it easier to be hard on ourselves and push past our limits. This can make it difficult to keep going because when we overdo it regularly, we feel more exhausted, anxious and in pain.

I find this to be an all-encompassing problem for me these days. I never feel like i do enough because I always feel tired and unfocused. Brain fog follows me around my day like a mist over my head, blinding my reality, focus and much more. In fact, I usually wake up exhausted and things don’t get any better unless I make time for rest times when I do nothing but breathe and center.

For me, practicing self-care is hard. I walk around on auto-pilot most of my day, disconnected from who I am and what I do. By late evening, I’m exhausted. I want to stop the cycle but I don’t know how to do that. The only way I can see is to schedule in pause breaks into my day as a way to practice self-care.

I’m sure many of you have heard of what PAUSE means. Here’s a refresher:

P – Pause and take a few deep breaths to calm down your nervous system and ground yourself in the present.

A = Ask yourself “Do I want to keep overdoing it?” “Why am I overdoing it?” “Do I feel less than others?”

U = Understand that you have a choice to stops and let go.

S = Say and repeat the mantras,

  • Overdoing is the root cause of my suffering.
  • I can not overdo it.
  • I am more than what I do.

E = Experience what you’re feeling without judgment, resistance or overthinking. Become aware where in your body you feel the emotion. Then let it go.  

By using this five-step process, you can start practicing self-care by getting out of unconsciously going from one thing to another. As an added bonus, you may not over do it as often.

A Brand-New Year With a Brand-New Mindset By Irene Roth

by irenesroth

Happy New Year Everyone!

Many of us feel less than others because of our fibromyalgia. We feel slower and less able to live a life that’s fulfilling and meaningful.

Most people set resolutions at this time of year. As the clock strikes midnight, people are filled with hope and happiness. But is this really the way it is with fibromates?

For the first decade after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I always dreaded January 1st. I believed that it was going to be the same old stuff again this year, pain, fatigue, sleepless nights, stress, and an uptick of my other comorbidities.

At the end of 2015, I had an aha moment while I was journalling. I wondered what if I changed my mindset towards getting ready for a brand-new year? What if instead of dreading the upcoming year because of all the hopelessness that I was feeling inside my heart, I reframed my thoughts?

Friends, that made a real difference for me in not only creating positive intentions for the new year but also having a happy and purposive year.

Instead of focusing on all the things I couldn’t do, I started focusing on what I can do, such as pace myself, start a gratitude practice, slow down so that I can enjoy things more, and especially to be self-compassionate and kind to myself.

The benefits of changing my mindset were quite immediate. I was able to enjoy the new year more and I no longer dreaded midnight on January 1st. Instead, I started looking forward to it with anticipation and hope.

I started setting small, realistic goals, working within my abilities and comorbidities, forgiving myself if I didn’t complete goals that I set out to accomplish because I was having a bad day or week, and above all being self-compassionate towards myself. No longer did I push myself to do things that I knew would only make me feel worse and experience more pain.

Friends, we must remember that we’re not damaged individuals just because we have fibro. We don’t have to resolve to a minimalist life where we just do the minimum. Because when we do, our self-esteem and identity will be impacted.

Instead, we need to approach each year with determination that we can pursue our goals, we can live a life that’s purposive and meaningful, and we can do so in such a way that will give us more hope and resilience.

Fibromyalgia need not rob you of your true identity and self-worth. You can still set and complete goals. You just have to set realistic goals that you can comfortably complete, with space for those hard days when you may have to practice self-compassion and take the day off.

So why not sit down and set some goals for yourself. In my next blog post next Monday, I will discuss how you can set small, achievable goals. In the meantime, sit down and write down five things you’d like to achieve this year.

May your year be filled with happiness, love, purpose, and self-compassion!

Practice Energy Conservation By Irene Roth

by irenesroth

One of the best ways to pace ourselves is to break big tasks into small components. It can be hard for a chronically ill individual to do a lot on any given day. This is especially the case if we didn’t sleep well or are experiencing additional inflammation and/or pain. On such days, we really need to pace ourselves and practice self-care.

Here are a few ways to break large tasks into smaller components.

*1. Decide what you absolutely need to get done today. Do the smaller tasks that can be done within a few minutes first, just to get them out of the way. Then you can focus on those more involved tasks.

*2. Decide which large task needs to be done. Then take that task and break it up into small units. For instance, if you have to clean out the garage, perhaps doing the sweeping one day, tidying things up on another day, and then washing and deep cleaning over a few days.  

*3. Write down how you intend to divide your large task. Sometimes we may forget how much we planned to do on a particular day. We may overdo it and then be in agony for a few days or a week, putting a damper on how we feel overall and our quality of life. This can also wrack havoc with how we feel and our pain levels.

*4. Accept that you won’t be able to get the large task done in one day. Try not to feel bad that you can’t accomplish this feat but instead accept that you are going to get it done over a few days or even a week. The most important thing is that you are still completing what you need to do. It may not be perfect, but it’s where you are now.

By taking these steps, you will be practicing energy conversation and pacing yourself. In the process, you will be feeling better and more confident that you can keep going and doing things that you need to do.

Try it!

Irene Roth