3 things to help you meet 'general health guidelines' re. sleep, diet, exercise.

Don't know about you guys but when I was recovering I got disheartened to say the least, (pissed off would be more appropriate but I don't think I had the energy to actually be pissed off when I was at my worst, so we will go with disheartened) when being told to "eat well, sleep well, exercise well, stay positive" from doctors, friends & family.

All cracking advice, & not wrong in the slightest. (Frankly google says the same).

But how are you meant to exercise when past attempts have ended up spending days in bed?

How can you have a good diet if there are days you have forgot to do a shop, but don't have the energy to go marching around Tescos.

How can you practice gratitude if you have lost most things that brought you joy in life? Like your able body, possibly relationships, jobs etc.

There can be a real tug of war internally for CFS suffers. Because yes -nyou do need to try & meet general health guidelines to support your recovery/body, but how you go about implementing that will be very different to how somebody without CFS will.

What's worse than the irritating advice, is the self hatred cycles, & feelings of failure that follow. Feeling like you arn't 'trying hard enough" will lead to more low self confidence & damage your sense of worth.

Again its not that this advice is wrong, its just that you usually need help breaking it down & making it work for you. (which - side note is - one of the biggest benefits of having a personal coach who knows your situation, what you need to focus on and tell you the baby steps to get there).

So i'm going to give you 3 ways in which you can support yourself in meeting general health guidelines a little bette:

1. Realise general health guidelines arn't everything when it comes to health

Some of you reading may be thinking "well I am already getting relatively good sleep, have a decent diet & moving as general recommended" but still don't feel well or symptom free, & honestly that because, as i've said a million times before, health is more than nutrition / physical activity. There are 8 pillars of health that need to be considered including emotional, social, spiritual, occupational health.

See things like sleep, diet, movement as your foundation, to built on. Please don't worry if your reading & thinking 'god my sleep is awful' or anything like that…it doesn't mean you won’t recover, but getting back to these basics is where your focus should be.

2. Perfectionism

This will hold you back 100%.

Some common examples;

 "if I can’t eat 3 wholesome nourishing meals a day, I feel guilty or bad and tell myself I am not doing good enough."

"I dont have the energy or time to make a nice breakfast so I just skip it." When you could still have a nice cup of tea banana and bit of toast.

"I can exercise, so i will just not move my body at all" Doing some steps, cleaning, or any general 'non-exercise' movement would be way better than nothing.

Perfectionism stops you taking any action. It stops you taking baby steps. But these are the ones that move you forwards. To the typical type a personality inclined person…these steps can be so small the feel insignificant. This is self sabotage.

Aim for imperfect consistency OVER perfect inconsistency.

3. Imperfect action

This is the flip side of perfectionism. It is practicing embracing imperfection in action. All the clients I work with implement imperfect action in daily habits & bigger challenges. I feel like it’s rapidly becoming my signature motto;)

An example would be "if i cant go out & do my favorite activity, I will choose to find joy in smaller things"

or..."If i cant go for a run, I will do a little walk"

its about remembering your longterm goal, & asking "what actions are going to help me get there?"

With all things diet, sleep, exercise….if you put a ridiculous amount of pressure, perfectionism or comparison to sally down the road…on yourself…you will feel overwhelmed & out of control.

It will result in inaction, feelings of failure, self hatred & it damages your worth because your behaviours don't match up to your actions.

Sending healing & wellness your way,

With gratitude, Sky x

PS. If you are ready to speed up your recovery, would like personal 1:1 help around behaviours & beliefs, mindset & lifestyle - to get out of your own way whether its conscious or not…then there are 4 days left to join the early bird price for the next intake of CFS transformation. Join the waitlist for a free consultation:)