Wow. What a busy weekend. On Saturday Robin and I went down to Eastbourne to eat chips and doughnuts on the pier and then see Anything Goes. Yesterday I went running round a cave dressed as a rabbit (don't ask). All in all, today I am exhausted.
I've reached the stage in my illness where I no longer seem to be crashing after partaking in even the slightest hint of activity, so although I'm very tired and aching today I actually don't feel too bad. All my instincts say that today is a day to sit on the sofa and rest in front of the TV, but I've decided I'm going to overrule them this time.
I have a good friend who is also an ME sufferer and she found that she began to feel much better once she learnt how to pace herself, which involves 5 minutes of rest, 5 minutes of mental stimulation (even watching TV or reading is enough), 5 minutes of rest and then 5 minutes of physical activity (such as doing the laundry and all those things that make me wince). Rinse and repeat.
I hadn't tried this method of pacing until very recently, and I am finding that it seems to keep me more level in the long run. I still have days where I don't do it, such as when I'm at the theatre or running about in fancy dress, but on all of my regular, sofa-bound days I am now making sure that I routinely add a little mental and a little physical activity into my day. Rather than chilling all day and then going for a nice long walk, I'm chilling while I watch TV and springing into action when the adverts come on. It's not quite as structured as my friend's method, but it seems to be working for me.
It is really hard work on some of my rougher days, trying to find the energy to get up and move about every 15-20 minutes or so, but it does seem to be bringing my energy into alignment so that I'm not really experiencing boom and bust any more. It's more good day/bad day, and at the moment that's the best I can hope for.
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