The Fatigue Book: Chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID fatigue: practical tips for recovery

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Today I struggle to walk 20 metres. On a bad day, the pain and fatigue make the six steps from my bed to the bathroom feel like a hundred road marches. The fatigue affects my body (muscles, heart rate, digestion etc), mind (difficulty concentrating, overwhelm from sounds and lights) and emotions (not enough ‘bandwidth’ to cope with strong emotions). Clearly, I need all the help I can get for managing fatigue! The Fatigue Book Review Written by an expert with long-standing and first hand experience. There are so many useful tools, and it’s bang up to date so no perpetuating of damaging therapies like GET. The author brings her unique joint training and experience in occupational therapy and psychotherapy to provide an approach that recognises physical, mental and emotional/spiritual needs suited to the individual. Each chapter includes a range of Tips from which to choose plus Food for thought, Pause and Mind, body and soul. Essential text is highlighted so that the severely fatigued can focus purely on that in the early stages of recovery. This is the direction we are heading towards to regain a healthier sleep routine. For now, just be aware of your current day and night sleep routine by drawing a line on the chart below where you think your sleep pattern currently is. I found the chapter on pacing particularly interesting, having lived with a partner with ME for many years. Learning how not to do too much on those precious occasions when you feel well is perhaps one of the most difficult lessons for people with chronic fatigue. Overdoing it, followed by a crash and relapse into exhaustion is a familiar pattern, and The Fatigue Book has useful strategies for breaking out of this vicious circle.

The structure of The Fatigue Book makes it user-friendly for readers with limited energy. It is broken into bite-size chunks, with key points highlighted in such a way that they are easily focused on, even in the midst of brain fog. The fatigue felt in ME and long COVID is different to normal tiredness, or even exhaustion. It’s a hugely debilitating condition. It can affect cognitive function, physical energy levels and the ability to cope with emotions or socialising. The following is an extract from ‘The Fatigue Book’ by Lydia Rolley and looks at the importance of sleeping well in managing the effects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Linkedin The Fatigue Book Chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID fatigue: Practical tips for recovery Author: Lydia RolleyI have full confidence that you will benefit from healthier sleep habits. Tip 21: Separate Day and Night Clearly

Lydia has created a book on fatigue which concurrently validates their experience and gently informs of strategies to move towards recovery.Many of us are searching for ways to deal with a level of exhaustion that prevents us from managing our day to day lives. Lydia’s intention was to equip people with an easy to try and understand list of tools to manage fatigue. She achieves this by making the book a joyful, easy read. I would recommend it to patients who have struggled to find a way towards recovery. I would also recommend that they bought it for disbelieving loved ones who would benefit from knowing all the tried and tested fatigue management interventions that have worked for others. It would seem to make logical sense that, if you suffer from fatigue, at least you would beable to have a good night’s sleep, right? Well, as you have no doubt discovered by now, the fatigue does not play by the normal rules of life, and what your body is craving from a good night’s sleep is sadly often denied. Not only can you tailor the advice to your particular needs (the 100 tips are organised into 11 thematic chapters) but you can find what you need easily due to the tip index. I’ll be referring to different aspects over the course of my recovery journey depending on what I need when. The reason for keeping a sleep diary is to understand your current sleep situation and give greater clarity to what may need to change. This sleep diary is more of a reflective diary rather than a scientific measurement of your sleep cycles (such as on a sleep app). A reflective diary can be more useful in empowering you to make some changes.

I have worked with many chronic fatigue sufferers who, although they sleep a lot, struggle to sleep well. From my experience, people either tend to over-think sleep issues, which can lead to increased anxiety about getting to sleep, or not to think enough about these issues, But it never shies away from a core truth: recovery from chronic fatigue, whatever the cause, largely depends on the individual affected. In the end, you have to manage your condition, nobody else can do it for you. Although clearly, having emotional and practical support from those around you is also a great contribution to recovery. There is useful advice about coping with the changing family dynamics that inevitably come with one member developing a long-term fatigue condition.There are a 100 tips which are clearly defined and explained. Furthermore it is illustrated beautifully with an interesting proverb which encapsulates the complex and layered narrative.

Changing your sleep pattern does not happen by chance. It does take a lot of patience, being intentional and very consistent. Concentrating on your sleep and developing healthy sleep hygiene habits together make the biggest difference to your overall health and ability to function and cope well. I have seen countless people transform their sleep habits and have witnessed the benefits. The change started when they chose to try something different. The advice is both practical and comprehensive. These are real tips which can make a difference and they don’t just cover the basics. I was particularly impressed that secondary issues are also covered (e.g. relationships, managing comorbidities etc). There is also advice for friends and family members. Some tips are easy to do (tidy your space) whilst others harder (adjust your mindset). As they cover different areas, you can tailor the advice to what you need help with. That makes this a hugely valuable book! Fatigue can stop us from doing things we were previously able. As we recover it can be scary to try those things again. Cover Synopsis for The Fatigue Book by Lydia Rolley The author wraps up each chapter with a section called Mind, Body and Soul, emphasising the co-existence of all aspects of the person. She has a strong Christian faith which is certainly in evidence here. There are prayers at the end of each chapter, for example.

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Her insights from the perspective of a person who has come out the other side are invaluable: it is so easy to lose sight of one’s strengths and abilities when unable to summon the energy to get out of bed in the morning. The author’s reminder that this is a season, not forever, is an antidote to the overwhelming sense that there is nothing beyond constant fatigue. The Fatigue Book is a useful and practical handbook full of tips to manage fatigue conditions day to day and move towards recovery. In the weeks and months ahead, be aware of how your current line gradually changes position and consider what has contributed to that shift. If you are sleeping excessively in the daytime and want to start changing that habit, see Tip 23. Keep a Reflective Sleep Diary The book contains 100 tips on dealing with fatigue. They are grouped thematically into 11 chapters covering areas including: mindset, sleep, energy, pacing, relationships etc. The tips are indexed and there is also a general index plus reference list. I would recommend only doing this for a week or two, no more than that. That is enough time to recognise any patterns of sleep and highlight any particular areas that need concentrating on.