+100%-
+100%-

“I do not hope for a cure or a radical positive change in my condition;ย instead I believe in the possibility of pleasurable moments.” Carol Lefelt

I am overwhelmed by the large number of responses to my last piece about reaching the age of 70 and feeling that it might be time to stop my quest for the Holy Grail, i.e., the successful treatment. Thanks to all who took the time to consider my circumstances and describe their own.

Carol's post about giving up the quest for the 'holy grail' - a return to health - sparked many responses

Carol’s blog asking if it was time to give up the ‘holy grail’; that sometimes seeming unreachable goal of a return to health, prompted many comments

Learning that there are patients out there in similar situations with similar reactions is truly helpful; Iโ€™m not sure why, but somehow life feels less out of control and less hostile. I really hadnโ€™t encountered many stories of people my age before, and I discovered patterns that have helped me make more sense of my own experiences.

We all clearly mourn significant losses. Many, like โ€œWhippet Loverโ€ (aka Christine) describe โ€œthat cycle of desolation, hope, failure, disappointment and resignationโ€ that accompanies the ME/CFS search for an improvement in health.

We โ€œolderโ€ ME/CFS patients seem to be at different states of health, some more well than others. More fortunate ones like Darden Burns โ€œfound the therapies that brought about a gradual and real recovery.โ€ The CPAP machine has improved the quality of Caroleโ€™s life. Jen experienced improvement with B12 and oxygen supplementation, Cathy Gee discovered Jacob Teitlebaumโ€™s protocol and David says that treating a double snip at MAO A has resulted in โ€œa bit of a quantum leap in my well-beingโ€. (Yes, Iโ€™ve read Amy Yeskoโ€™sย Guide to Neutrigenomic Testingย but still canโ€™t decipher the meaning of โ€œa shortage of methyl groups in the bodyโ€.)

Nancy Henson is grateful for her doctors (Lapp and Bridges) as well as for acupuncture. The Methylation Protocol has also helped Steffi; Robert listed all the neurotransmitter and cellular supplements he takes, along with dosages; and Christine McLaughlin, who also shares her ME/CFS experiences on Health Rising, has been helped by Dr. Chia (Seeย Could This Really Be Happening? One Year with Dr. Chiaโ€ย http://healthrising.org/blog/2014/02/18/this-really-happening-one-year-dr-chia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-patient-reports/).

I have an ambiguous reaction to these testimonies. On the one hand, I think, Look! There really are reasons to hope. And as so many responders have emphasized (to quote Darden Burns again), โ€œhope. . .keeps us human beings going even in the most difficult situations.โ€ Hope brings inspiration and encouragement. The many writers who have explored the role that hope plays in the ability of patients to endure serious illness seem to agree that loss of hope can be devastating to the possibility of rehabilitation/recovery.

Buoyed by news of the gains others have made, Carol still quails  at the thought of another trial, and the possibility of another dashed hope.

Buoyed by news of the gains others have made, Carol still quails at the thought of another trial -and the possibility of more dashed hopes.

On the other hand, (as Iโ€™ve explained in previous posts) I no longer seem to have the psychic energy for this kind hope, after years of relying on so many unsuccessful (reasonable and unreasonable) treatments and remembering, like Brenda Brown Elliot, โ€œthe excitement of thinking weโ€™d made a breakthrough, only to have those hopes dashed in various ways.โ€

I groan along with Sara R: just thinking about another possible protocol โ€œmakes me feel, Ugh!โ€ Nathalie Langevin agrees:

โ€œWhat hurts me the most is hope. I flew so high on its wings and fell so hard that I sometimes think that all those pains I have come from those imaginary bones I broke.โ€

What is hope? My English teacher soul reaches for the dictionary. Mirriam Webster defines the verb hope as โ€œto cherish a desire with anticipation. . .to desire with expectation of obtainment. . .to expect with confidence. โ€œ The noun is โ€œthe feeling of wanting something to happen and thinking that it could happen: a feeling that something good will happen or be true.โ€

seagull flying

Natalie flew so high on the wings of hope that when it disintegrated she fell equally as far.

In โ€œSources of Hope in Chronic Illness,โ€ Catherine Garrett explains that โ€œwhen our desire is cut off from the expectation of its fulfillment, we suffer. Chronic illness is a type of constant and continuing suffering.โ€ When medical science does not find a remedy, hope, therefore, must come from something else.

That โ€œsomething elseโ€ she defines as โ€œhealingโ€, which is a transformative process that includes the physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological self. She rejects the reduction of hope as an aspect of will, positive thinking, โ€œas if hope allows one to โ€˜willโ€™ a change in the course of the disease in the body.ย Blaming the victim forย not being positive enough.โ€ And encouraging the โ€œvictimโ€ to blame her/him self, and spiral down even further into despair.

empathy

Garrett proposes we replace productivity at work when we’re ill with generating empathy and support for ourselves and others

Instead, Garrett offers an alternative to despair, an alternative to believing our selves as diminished, to measuring โ€œself-worth in terms of independence and hard work, virtues difficult to achieve in chronic illness.โ€ That alternative involves our increased awareness of the suffering of others through our own suffering, so that we find ways to reduce their suffering and take responsibility for each other. โ€œWe abandon the egotistical self for the far greater freedom and connectedness of the altruistic self.โ€ Knowing that this transformation is possible through real examples from peopleโ€™s lives โ€œare the sources of hope.โ€

Wow.

I donโ€™t know about you, but Iโ€™m not one of those people thankful for the insights and understandings and greater maturity and empathy and compassion and personal growth and humility brought on by my sickness. I think I was pretty mature and insightful and compassionate, etc. when I was well. Iโ€™m not grateful for ME/CFS. It hasnโ€™t been a blessing. And I absolutely do not have the strength and vitality to physically help others, beyond maybe writing a check for a charitable contribution.

I donโ€™t disbelieve that others have experienced this kind of transformation. In fact, in the 80โ€™s, when I fell down the stairs and broke both my ankles and lay immobile and in pain in a hospital bed on the first floor of our house without a bathroom (try using a commode with visitors in the next room), I think I gained an awareness of the importance of community and caring (and a sense of my own resilience) that I hadnโ€™t had before. BUT I RECOVERED. And I never felt my basic life energy sapped, which, I think, makes ME/CFS uniquely awful.

I just know that for me, chronic illness has not opened my eyes and my heart any more than they already were.

Yet I do believe in the possibility of reaching a kind of โ€œaccommodationโ€ with ME/CFS when you are, like me and many of the responders to my last post, of a certain age and โ€œapproaching the giving up after many knockbacksโ€ (to quote Hope). But I donโ€™t think โ€œhopeโ€, in the common use of the word, is available to me.

I thank my friend Valerie Free for helping me work through my thoughts about โ€œhopeโ€. I agree with her view that โ€œhopeโ€ requires mental strength and depends so much on your circumstances. These circumstances include your individual physical condition, your family, your friends, the society and culture you live in, and the state of medicine. Many of us face a daily battle in the midst of unrelenting physical illness, debilitating weakness, psychic malaise, and an indifferent or even hostile environment.

The lack of acceptance from the medical community and/or friends and family is a  barrier to peaceful coexistence with ME/CFS

The lack of acceptance from the medical community and/or friends and family is a barrier to peaceful coexistence with ME/CFS that everyone faces

Other illnesses are validated by recognition, respect and research. We all know the ME/CFS story told by Hillary Johnson inย Oslerโ€™s Webย of the U.S. medical establishmentโ€™s long history of denial and unwillingness to provide necessary funding. And so many of us have been subjected, like Nan Talbot, to foolish doctors with their disbelief and condescension (โ€œYour bra strap is too tight. Youโ€™re crazy. Youโ€™re a hypochondriac. Youโ€™ve obviously been abused. And some just sneered or laughed or yelled.โ€)

Bromides about the need for hope lead to the same โ€˜blaming the victimโ€™ phenomenon described by Catherine Garrett above. When you are despondent and hear โ€œStay Positive!โ€, what are you supposed to do? Oh, okay. Iโ€™ll turn on my hope-switch.

I wonder, however, if thereโ€™s another possibility for us. Many of the responders to my blog talk about something they describe in different ways:

Pat has found a different kind of liberation:

โ€œThere is something very liberating, however, in not being focused on the outcome of a treatment but being focused instead on living the life I have in ways that bring me the most satisfaction. There is still great joy in loving and spending time with family and friends and being able to capture the moments with my grandchildren who are so filled with promise for the future. โ€œ

Making the best of what you've got; creating the possibility of acceptance where you are - is another option

Making the best of what you’ve got; creating the possibility of completely accepting where you are – is another option

Vicki says,

โ€œI think there comes a time in everyoneโ€™s life when youโ€™ve got to stop looking for answers and try to make the best of what youโ€™ve got โ€“ especially when youโ€™re of a more โ€˜matureโ€™ age (I turned 60 a couple of weeks ago) adhering to a specific diet which suits me, plenty of fresh herbs and lots of fresh water, slow walking on a regular basis 2-3 times a week and spending time with a hobby I love that has been the best treatment of all.โ€

Esther Siebert doesnโ€™t expect a cure in time for her.

โ€œThis has brought me much peace โ€“ living the life I have rather than the one I grieved for so many years.โ€

Judy

โ€œwould like to share the optimism which others have, but I do not. Instead of hoping, I work on accepting.โ€

Dee explains that

โ€œI am not giving up, I am just giving in. . .hopelessness is all too often a strong emotion that overwhelms me when I allow it to.โ€

Changing your focus to gratitude for what you have instead of despair for what you don't is another path

Consciously changing your focus from despair for what you don’t have to gratitude for what you do have is another path

In an especially inspiring and articulate post,ย  Linda Reed emphasizes gratitude and humor:

โ€œEach day I focus on being grateful. And for the days when this brutal Wyoming weather has me on my knees, I count my small blessings. Some days itโ€™s hard to find them. Always my husband and my omnipotent poodle. . .I donโ€™t live in a war torn country, somehow I got disability the first time I tried. . .my bed-head, scare-hair has finally been subdued. I laugh at myself, I have to. . .somehow day by day, Iโ€™ve tied a knot and held on. And I intend to keep doing so. The days I think I canโ€™t endure the pain, the IBS has me bathroom bound, my brain wonโ€™t function, and Iโ€™m unfit for human consumption, somehow something keeps me going.โ€

โ€œAfter spending thousands of dollars and feeling intense disappointment after each new treatment, doctor, healer, diet, supplement, etc. . .โ€ Barbara has โ€œalso decided to just โ€˜Beโ€™. . .I cry when I need to, missing my old life and accepting this life.โ€

Nan Talbot talks of

โ€œacceptance with a hopeful eye to the future. . .take care of yourself the best you can and watch the birds, listen to music, watch TV if thatโ€™s your thing โ€“ just do whatever it takes to enjoy life in your new diminished capacity.โ€

OM also has found that โ€œMy life is limited, but in many ways I have come to accept the limitations and enjoy my life within them.โ€

And Barb says, โ€œNow I do what I can and then have a Shiraz.โ€ (!)

Christian writes of an 'alternative quest'; not the one you thought you would have, but the one, that you, to your surprise, find that you're on now.

Christian writes of an ‘alternative quest’; not the one you thought you would have, but the one, that find you’re on now.

Clearly, these writers rely on acceptance rather than hope. Though a negative reaction to this reliance might be an accusation of admitting defeat and โ€œgiving upโ€, Buddhists see things differently: They offer the solace and peace found in surrendering, in not fighting against a โ€œwhat isโ€ which cannot be changed. For Christian Godbout, this is resorting to โ€œa spiritual way of living with this illness and nothing else. And that is not giving up, it is resorting to an alternative quest.โ€

But I still demur. Where is my โ€œacceptanceโ€ button? My attempts to meditate havenโ€™t achieved much beyond some quiet moments, which I value but which havenโ€™t affected my larger mental attitudes.

I think that for me, acceptance is possible because I still experience pleasure, which is not a matter of my will: Pleasure from my 15 month-old grandson Ira who is just beginning to walk — no matter how lousy I feel, I still giggle spontaneously at his antics; from my sonsโ€™ hilarious banter; from my daughter-in-law Hollyโ€™s warmth and caring; from preparing a meal when I can; from watching a good movie with my beloved husband and a bag of salty popcorn; from moments of illumination during a book club meeting. (I actually canโ€™t wait for tonightโ€™s final episode ofย True Detectiveย despite my plot-brain-fog.)ย 

This pleasure or delight may not be as intense and uncomplicated as during my earlier healthy life, but it exists and is the source of my โ€œhopeโ€ now. I do not hope for a cure or a radical positive change in my condition; instead I believe in the possibility of pleasurable moments. And I believe that this is a learned response. My body knows what pleasure feels like from my past life, and continues to feel it in spite of this debilitating chronic illness. I donโ€™t really have to work at it.

” I am most open to feeling these (pleasurable) moments when I can stop wanting things to be different” Carol Lefelt

Carol believes  in the possibility of pleasurable moments

Carol believes in the possibility of pleasurable moments – which she notes tend to occur when she’s not trying to have things different from the way they are

This was not always true. During the earliest years of ME/CFS, I experienced pretty severe โ€œanhedonia,โ€ a depression in which a person is unable to feel pleasure at all. Time and the antidepressant Lexapro helped.

Even today, when a bad crash wreaks havoc, I can descend into some pretty deep misery, but experience has reinforced the conviction that relief will come with rest and thatโ€™s where I can hope โ€“ not for release from disease but from restoration of pleasurable moments within the life I have now. I am most open to feeling these moments when I can stop wanting things to be different, which helps me to overcome what Tory calls the โ€œaddictionโ€ to the search for a cure.

I love Nancy Durayโ€™s metaphor:

โ€œSo what do I do? I live like Iโ€™ve got a handicap (I do) and walk through the mine fields like a well trained military dog, sniffing out the IEDs, careful to โ€˜liveโ€™ the life I have and not step on a dirty bomb.โ€

Implicit in her metaphor is the truth that this is an endless process of learning and re-learning, not a complete and final transformation.

GET FREE ME/CFS AND FIBROMYALGIA INFO

Like the blog you're reading? Don't miss another one.

Get the most in-depth information available on the latest ME/CFS and FM treatment and research findings by registering for Health Rising's free ย ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia blog here.


Stay on Top of the News!

Subscribe To Health Risingโ€™s Free Information on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Fibromyalgia (FM), Long COVID and Related Diseases.

Thank you for signing up!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This