Patience is a virtue

When I was seen by the CFS clinic we were given notes to read that covered everything we’d learnt in the group sessions. Everything was typed up for us so we didn’t have to take notes ourselves. This saved us a lot of energy and we were able to concentrate solely on sitting and listening. We had the notes for reference when we got home as we would have most probably forgotten what we had covered because of our memory problems. Many of us though were unable to read through the notes properly. We had used up our energy travelling to the sessions, sitting in an unfamiliar chair, listening to voices louder than we were used to, the hustle and bustle of everyday life, coping with brighter lights than we could cope with, adjusting to temperatures we were unused to…

We were too poorly. As my vision is affected by my M.E. I also have to contend with the words and pages being out of focus and looking like they are swimming…fun fun fun! But I still have those notes for reference and now, although I cannot read more than a page at a time usually, I am able to flick through them when I feel I need some guidance.

For months and months and months I had a go at sudoku to kick start my brain into working properly and to improve my concentration. It was hard. Very hard. To start with I couldn’t even look at the puzzle without my brain having a hissy fit. Then it took my hours to complete a puzzle because I needed ‘purple time’ every couple of minutes. I can now finish a puzzle in just a few minutes. I have carefully retrained my brain.

My concentration levels have improved enough that I can read books again sometimes. Yay!

I have always been a reader and so it is lovely to be able to get lost in a book from time to time. I read rubbish mostly…romantic, chick-lit stuff. I would like to be able to read a few history books again because I’m a geek like that…something to aim for.