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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Physical and Emotional Information for CFS/ME/FMS, 17 Sep 2007
This book is the updated version of Running On Empty.
I bought it after reading some of Katrina Berne's online articles on coping with chronic illness.
As well as a lot of information and advice on symptoms, cause and treatments this book also addresses emotional issues and coping with chronic illnesses like CFS/ME and FMS. It is compassionate yet pulls no punches.
For me Chapter 11 - "Overwhelmed and Uncertain: The Effects of CFS and FMS" is the highlight. Katrina Berne talks about the difficulties of dealing with these illnesses for many people - uncertainty, loss of former life, strain on relationships, feelings of guilt, struggles with relapses and remissions, changes in self image, financial/economic changes.
"Incurable chronic illnesses fall into the category of incomprehensible things that happen to other people. Their onset is met with a sense of disbelief and betrayal. As an illness lingers, it becomes more difficult to deny its foothold on our lives. ...
Chronic Illness can rob us of our former lifestlyes, activites, hopes and dreams. Periodically we get some of it back, only to lose it again. Unpredicatability of symptoms presents a burdensome continuous challenge. ..."
For some this might all seem a bit negative - but I am grateful to Katrina Berne for being honest about the difficult and sometimes dark challenges I and many other sufferers face over time.
In this one chapter alone she describes almost all of the challenges I have faced in my first year of diagnosis. I now know these feelings and challenges are 'normal' and was also able to have my husband read the chapter to explain my wide ranging emotions as I was unable to verbalise them. And I felt better able to tackle them.
Also, in terms of tackling emotional issues, Chapter 15 "Coping with Chronic Illness" and Chapter 16 "Relationships: The Balancing Act" are give advice on dealing with many of the issues raised in Chp 11.
She discusses moderation, coping strategies, balancing life and play, reducing stress, coping with our own feelings, looking at a new life philosphy for ourselves in the face of a changed life, and relationships with famillies, spouse, friends, colleagues and being single. There is also a chapter specifically about children with CFS/ME/FMS.
"We have no choice about being ill but have many options as to how to handle symptoms, losses and limitations.
Self-care is an active rather than passive process, coming from "in here" rather then "out there". It requires giving up the attempt to control that which we cannot, focusing instead on the areas in which we have choices. Opportunites to choose lie primarily in the realm of lifestlye modification: balancing activitry and rest, examing our thought processes and self messages, and learning to adap to different circumstances."
I found the emotional support offered in the book really helpful and the best I've found so far in CFS books. Many focus on the medical aspects with little attention to the changes forced into our lives by chronic illness.
There's also a lot of medical information but I found it easier to make sense of it in the context of the other CFS books I've read. So I would also recommend the British focused books "M.E.: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Practical Guide" by Anne MacIntyre and "Living with M.E" by Charles Shepherd.
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