Should I Continue Working/Studying Through ME/CFS?

For a workaholic, the prospect of leaving your passions behind or even putting them on hold might seem a totally depressing thought; but for many sufferers of ME/CFS, this is a sad reality that may need to be addressed.

The symptoms and day to day living with the illness may become so difficult that being bed ridden or spending more time at home to rest will probably mean some big decisions on whether to continue in your current lifestyle or make changes.

These are important decisions that you wont be able to put off forever. The longer you try to force yourself through bad health, the more harm you are doing to your chances of finding recovery.

Every person who loses their health will go through feelings of loss for the life and person that you used to be. Going through this process may bring on depression, and is very personal. How long it takes to grieve this loss will depend on your ability to adapt and make changes in how you live your life. This means admitting the situation you are in but realising that it is not the end.

For many sufferers, the symptoms are a display of a person’s inability to slow down and listen to their bodies. This is something you will need to learn as soon as you can. For example, when your body is tired and you force yourself into work to the point of exhaustion, consider what the price on your long-term health is versus your studies/career.

A way to help you manage what you can and can’t do, would be to start rating the activities you do in order of priority, and then looking at the likely energy levels each activity will use. Grade your tiredness from 1-10 (1 least tired, to 10 most tired) after each activity (whether that be fulfilling an 8 hour day at work, or a series of study periods at college) and through time you’ll start to see patterns form where certain activities hold more of an effect over you than others.

You will need to consider whether the ambitions and dreams you have held on to up to this point are now realistic. This is not to say that you should let go of them altogether, simply that you need to evaluate the current path you are on. Perhaps you can study part-time, perhaps you can study from home, or perhaps you can work from home. Speak to your employers or education representatives and find out what support is available to you. Communication may be more difficult given how tired you’ll feel, but by speaking out will reduce the stress you are under and enable you to find a way through your trials.

Don’t give up hope that you can still achieve your goals. Be flexible in the way you life your life whilst taking care of your health and ensuring you listen to what your body’s needs are. Breakthroughs in medicinal research happen all the time, and may happen one day for ME/CFS. You may find your symptoms get better in time, but by looking after yourself, you’ll find a way through it.