I recently wrote an article about emotional fatigue. “What Is Emotional Exhaustion or Emotional Fatigue and What Role Does It Play in COPD Fatigue?” ‹ Life Addicted to the POC — WordPress (fase-it.net) I am not sure of how much of a role that emotional fatigue plays in our everyday lives, because for the most part, I know what to do. When I wake up, but don’t want to get up, I know that I can go back to sleep, or I can get up. I know what to do but doing what I need to do may be a struggle. I may need to get up so that I can attend a meeting, do some housework, or make some contacts, but still the struggle is real.
I know that I need to exercise in order to build up my stamina, but some days I just do not want to exercise. It might be ok to skip one day, but one day tends to lead to two which leads to three and so on, so the struggle continues. I used to be the first to volunteer for extra work at my job even though my father-in-law told me not to volunteer for anything. I was always the one the students came to when they wanted to do a project because you could always count on Mrs. Gainer. Now I struggle just to make it through the day.
Some days the struggle is intense and some days it is much less, but every day there is some struggle. I feel that my life is still important and that I am doing important things to help others with my condition, but the struggle still exists. Once I conquer the struggle and get moving, I am almost always glad that I did prevail.
Life is beautiful even when each day begins with a struggle of some degree.
Yes, life is beautiful! I think it’s great when we fall asleep, thinking of the good things to look forward to the next day. Life is a struggle for chronically ill patients. In many cases, people who are healthy cannot understand our plight. If you tell someone you are short of breath, they may say “I know”. But in reality, they don’t know because they cannot know. As a chronically ill patient, it is important to feel encouraged and have the will to get up out of bed each day. There must be a purpose. Keeping busy by doing housework, doing yardwork, caring for pets, and very importantly, helping others who struggle with chronic illness. Yes, we can live a full life. It may not be full in the same way we used to live, but full and rewarding none the less!