FatigueFree - My way out of Chronic Fatigue

To better health

Russell Stubbs's Optimum Energy Course has made a huge transformation in my life. It's not just about becoming free from Chronic Fatigue, but it affects all aspects of life. My life is so much better now, though it has only been a couple of months since I took the course. The future, and my whole life, is now looking very bright and full of hope.

Health
I can now go into town, and go for a drive in my car more or less when I like. Though I still avoid doing that if I feel really off due to a cold or similar, but I think that is rather normal. Included in this journey towards health and well-being is of course also to determine what is normal. Even a completely healthy person feels tired on and off, and gets ill sometimes.

I sleep much better now, it's easier to go to sleep and I have a deeper and a lot less interrupted sleep. If I do wake up during the night, I usually go back to sleep very quickly. I'm nowadays "normally" tired when I wake up in the morning, and even if I occasionally have slept a bit poorly, I feel quite okay once I get up and start my day.

My ability to concentrate and my memory has improved, for instance paying the bills is no longer a problem. I baked muffins for a family gathering a couple of weeks ago, and that went really well. I didn't stand there wondering what I had put in or not. :-)

I still avoid watching action films, I consciously try to choose more positive things to watch. But when I occasionally see something disturbing on tv, I don't get severely affected the way I used to, and I can shake it off much sooner. And when a phone salesman calls, I just say "no thanks" and hang up, no stress response there either.

I have gradually started to be more active, I pick up the toys from the floor and do some cleaning, I do the laundry and the washing up, and I really enjoy being able to! Not many people are really happy when washing up, but I am! It's the pure joy of actually being able to be active instead of lying in the sofa like a piece of dead meat. The fever, migraine, flu symptoms and stomach virus symptoms I had before when I had overdone it, is all gone. That is just wonderful!!!

My immune system is a lot better now. Writing this, it's the end of October, and I have only had two colds this fall. Both times I have been up and about, being reasonably active in spite of the virus. In fact, I think the children have caught more viruses than I have this fall, and I can't remember the last time that happened.

The heart discomfort that terrified me immensely before, have I hardly noticed at all these last months. Only once or twice have I felt my heart beating a bit irregularly, and that was due to some stress I was having in my life. It subsided very quickly too, and I wasn't even worried.

After that first walk for 300 metres during the second course day, I have slowly expanded my walking distance. Now, three months after the course, I walk up to 3 km, 2-3 times a week!!! Not bad for someone who just a couple of months ago was thinking about getting a wheelchair just to get out of the house. In the beginning my legs were rather unsteady, and I was worried of crashing or maybe not be able to get home when I was walking, but that fear is gone now. Now I can trust that my body is able to get me home, and if I occasionally feel extra tired, I just use the techniques I learned and I feel instantly better.

I also notice that my body is handling the physical exercise in a totally different way. Now it reacts more normally to physical activity: my muscles might be tired directly afterwards, but a day or two later I feel that the body has responded and it feels a bit stronger and lighter. It's wonderful to feel that the body is responding so well to exercise, now it's possible to build some stamina and muscle strength. And it's so great not being afraid of crashing anymore, which was a huge fear for me before the course. In fact, I haven't had a single crash after attending the course, in spite of being enormously more active. I can hardly find words to describe how wonderful this feels!!!

Relationships
I now have more energy to engage with my family, I can listen more to the children, help them with their homework when needed, and I can read books to them without getting short of breath or tired. I have been doing more of the household work with cooking, the laundry, and cleaning, and my husband really appreciates that. :-) I even have started to sort out the piles of stuff that have gathered while I didn't have the energy to do anything, and I'm throwing away a lot of junk that was just lying there before.

I can go with the family for outings more than before. I tagged along for a family gathering a couple of weeks ago with no major problems, and I really enjoyed it. That would just not have been possible before. The other week I went into town with my husband to do some checking for a major future purchase, we stopped at seven different places and I went along into all seven stores. Before the course, I wouldn't even have been able to just sit in the car for that long, I would have stayed at home and my husband would have had to do it all on his own.

Economy/work
I haven't started working yet, and right now it feels like I still have some distance to go before that will be possible. But I have started dreaming about what I would like to do, and that doesn't feel unreachable anymore. I'm feeling more and more certain that with time, I will be able to do pretty much what I want to, my health and energy is returning in a greater extent all the time.

Well-being
I feel so much better now, and I have a whole new feeling of security and hope for the future. I can see how much better I have got in just 2-3 months, and I have a whole life in front of me. The anxiety and worry that was with me all the time is now greatly reduced. It's much easier to find a state of calmness and presence in the now moment, and to really appreciate and be grateful for my life.

The deep feelings of guilt I had before, due to everything I could not do, and not being much of a mother or wife, have also diminished. I have started thinking and dreaming about what I would like to do in the future, and what I would like to work with. I was completely shut down with that before, I had no dreams at all (other than of getting well), and the future terrified me. I am no longer afraid of being stuck in Chronic Fatigue for the rest of my life, I'm actually on my way to getting well!