Monsters & ME

Hello and welcome to Believe in ME with Rhona Barton. This podcast is about all things Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) related!I'm Rhona and I lived with ME for almost 10 years during which time, I was bed-bound and wheelchair-bound, welcome to my Podcast. In this week’s episode I’m going to be chatting to you about Monsters and ME! It’s Halloween after all so this seemed like a good title for the episode!You can head to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/media for more information about me and my story.<br>Don’t forget that you can review, share & subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.<br>When I think about ME, CFS and Long Covid, there are lots of aspects that come to mind. For example, the isolation, the pain, the grief, the inability to do so many things, the worry, the anxiety, the brain fog, the list goes on. I class these as monsters. Having said that, I don’t remember ever really dressing up as a monster for Halloween. I remember dressing up as a packet of Opal Fruits (now known as Starburst) and also as an envelope and but I don’t remember being a monster.<br>That may sound strange, but I believe you can define the term monster in a couple of ways.<br>·     Firstly, a monster could be seen as a frightening creature – think Halloween costumes such as witches, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, clowns, aliens etc. and not really a packet of Starburst or an Envelope!·     And secondly, a monster could be seen as something extraordinary or daunting – think a 500-page novel that you’d like to get through or living with the many symptoms of ME/CFS & Long Covid.<br>As you may have guessed, I’m firmly in camp 2 when it comes to thinking about the symptoms I had, as monsters!<br>The problem with monsters, whichever camp you sit in, is that they are monsters for a reason. They frighten us. They make us feel scared. They may make us feel lonely, anxious, overwhelmed, angry, hurt, concerned, jealous, disappointed plus probably a whole host of other feelings and emotions. When we’re already struggling for energy to deal with some of the smaller aspects of each day, having to also deal with these monsters and their accompanying emotions, is just draining and exhausting.<br>Let’s think about some key take aways from this episode:1.    Monsters come in all shapes and sizes but by facing them, we can begin to reduce their impact on us. 2.    Burying our heads in the sand, doesn’t stop the feelings and emotions, it just masks them.3.    Being busy, is a distraction just as much as binging your favourite TV or book series.4.    Your feelings and emotions may be trying to tell you something so put some time aside to listen to them.5.    Don’t judge yourself but do be kind.<br>You can still download your FREE copy of my Activity tracker by heading to www.rhonabarton.co.uk/links.  You might want to try this so that you can see where your distractions might lie.Whilst you’re there, you can head to my media page for more information about me and my story. <br>You can pick up a copy of Diane’s Grief Journal by h