RedLione
09-07-2004, 05:15 AM
I have shared this with a few friends who found it really helpful in explaining to "healthy people" what our lives can be like:
I look at energy like a bank account. Each morning we wake up with $1,000 to spend any way we want to. We write energy checks all day long, spending freely, enjoying our activities, accomplishing a lot. By dinner time most people are slowing down, but they have a few bucks left. They might go out to dinner and a movie, over to visit friends, give the kids a bath. Some couples spend their remaining energy on each other.
IC/fibro people wake up each morning with only about $300 in their energy account, so the first thing we learn to do is prioritize and economize. Some mornings I know I'd better skip washing my hair or there won't be enough energy left to get myself to work. Sometimes I even skip meals because I know digesting it will make me too tired to do the things I HAVE to do. At the end of that kind of day, it's a miracle if I have $2.50 left to brush my teeth and kiss my sweetie goodnight. Friends think you're ignoring them, but you honestly can't "spend" your energy on phone calls and then drag yourself to the grocery store in the same day. ON TOP OF ALL THAT, your body is spending precious energy every day, fighting to heal itself.
I think it helps when my friends and family realize that they start their day with more than 3 times as much energy as I do. They tend to offer to help more, and I'm learning to let them! :smile tee
I look at energy like a bank account. Each morning we wake up with $1,000 to spend any way we want to. We write energy checks all day long, spending freely, enjoying our activities, accomplishing a lot. By dinner time most people are slowing down, but they have a few bucks left. They might go out to dinner and a movie, over to visit friends, give the kids a bath. Some couples spend their remaining energy on each other.
IC/fibro people wake up each morning with only about $300 in their energy account, so the first thing we learn to do is prioritize and economize. Some mornings I know I'd better skip washing my hair or there won't be enough energy left to get myself to work. Sometimes I even skip meals because I know digesting it will make me too tired to do the things I HAVE to do. At the end of that kind of day, it's a miracle if I have $2.50 left to brush my teeth and kiss my sweetie goodnight. Friends think you're ignoring them, but you honestly can't "spend" your energy on phone calls and then drag yourself to the grocery store in the same day. ON TOP OF ALL THAT, your body is spending precious energy every day, fighting to heal itself.
I think it helps when my friends and family realize that they start their day with more than 3 times as much energy as I do. They tend to offer to help more, and I'm learning to let them! :smile tee