Henry's Rules

Greetings,

It has been a while since I have written anything in my blog and for those who have been particularly interested in reading what I have to say, I am sorry. I got to the situation where giving simple updates on my current state of health just was not appropriate to my aim for this blog. For those who have been keeping up, my chest is much better and has improved a lot with excercise and physiotherapy. Now on to the topic at hand...

This particular blog is about 10 rules that I do my best to apply when dealing with my fibromyalgia (FM). What I will do with regard to this is not just simply list them and let people work out what I am saying, but write a small paragraph about each in explanation for each one. The first thing that needs to be realised with regard to these rules is that they are rather general and mostly aimed at the physical aspects of life and especially exercise. This being said, they can apply to less physical things as well.

1. Do what you can when you can.
Rule number one. This is about not having too strict deadlines because you never know what is around the corner. It is also about making the best out of a good situation and achieving all that you can when you are able to do things. When you are feeling your best you should try to achieve the best that you can. This rule is also about not pushing things too hard.

2. Do what you can with what you have.
If rule number one is about what to do when you have all of your facilities and abilities, then rule number two is about what to do when you don't. This rule is focussed upon doing things that you are able to do at the time. If you can't walk comfortably, find something that is sitting down to do, and so on. It is also about maximising the usefulness of the abilities that you have at all times, this way you will always be getting the maximum amount out of your day.

3. Any exercise which gets you to move and helps you to continue to move is great.
One of the biggest problems with FM is that if you start on the downward spiral it is very difficult to recover from it. This rule is about keeping your mobility and maintaining it. Excercise is important for keeping mobile and simple things such as walking and doing simple physical activities will improve your health. Obviously running marathons and excessive exercise in the beginning is not such a good idea, you need to ease into things.

4. Find your limits and push them.
Everyone has limits. Some of these limits are imposed upon them involuntarily, and some are imposed voluntarily. Both of these sets of limits can be pushed within reason. If you think that you cannot do something and never try to do it, you never will. This is self-limiting. On the other hand, if you try something and find a limitation there is something that can be pushed until the real edge is found and you will have made progress. This limits should be pushed carefully and with consideration for consequences.

5. A little advancement is better than none at all. Aim for 105%.
Little advances are better than big ones as little advances are progressive and one can be stacked upon the next, and before you know it the large advance is made, even if only made a little at a time. The idea of 105% is in order to stretch your limits and improve them. If you only go to 100% you will end up with the same limit as you started. If you push for a little bit more, over time your limitations will improve and be further along. Steady improvement is much better for you than over-reaching yourself.

6. If you push it too much today, remember you will pay for it later.
Burn-out, what a nuisance. This is the result of pushing things a little too hard. You need to know that if you attempt to push way beyond your limits you will end up paying for it later. This can result in some extended downtime, but this being said if you are prepared to do this and it makes you feel good to push your limits do so. This is one that I am personally guilty of on a regular basis. I get going, have too much fun and then don't know when I should have stopped. I then pay for it afterwards.

7. Don't feel guilty about taking a rest when you need one.
This one applies to everyone, regardless if you are completely healthy or not so much. Rest time is important. This is how we build our energy to deal with the next day, next task, next event or whatever. If you do not take the time to rest you will not perform at your peak. Listen to your body and what it is trying to tell you. Have a break, you will feel better for it afterward. Just remember not to stay on the break too long.

8. Respect, do not fear pain.
There is a guage that I use which puts fear of pain on one end, disregard on the other and respect right in the middle. If you fear pain then you will never attempt to push yourself as as soon as it hurts you will stop, this just may be from fatigue. On the other end of things if you keep pushing yourself even though you are in real pain you can do yourself some real damage and this is to be avoided also. Understand that if you push things then it will hurt, for the most part this will just be due to fatigue, just don't push it too far. If you are getting pain beyond fatigue then you really need to stop.

9. If you don't use it, you will lose it.
FM like all forms of arthritis and similar conditions locks joins and restricts movements. If you let your condition dictate to you, you will end up less able to move. You need to be doing some sort of gentle exercise at least in order to keep your movement up. If you fail to do this you can end up being worse than you were before. The only thing that will keep you mobile is if you move. The only thing that will keep your joints operating is to use them.

10. Recovery is a long road, but it will be worth it in the end.
Recovery takes a long time and if you rush things you can put yourself back further than you were before. It is important that you take your time to recover in order to make your recovery effective. This being said, you also need to be doing things as you are recovering in order to maintain your recovery. Once again it is a balance between doing not enough and doing too much. If you put effort into making your recovery effective you will thank yourself in the end.

These 10 rules are pretty simple and their explanations are also. I have found it useful to keep these rules in the back of my head. This way you are always considering what you are doing. In effect each person should make up a similar list of rules for themselves, this way they can be modified to suit the individual. I have given an example of a list which I have found works for me for the physical aspects, you can even have a list of rules for each area in your life, and they do not all have to go together and they can contradict one another, they only have to make sense to you.

Cheers,

Henry.