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

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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,

The Fatigue Book immediately conveys the sense of an author who is personally invested – and indeed, Lydia Rolley has extensive experience of chronic fatigue conditions, both as someone who has lived with ME/CFS and as a jointly qualified occupational therapist and psychotherapist who worked for many years in an NHS fatigue clinic.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. Linkedin The Fatigue Book Chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID fatigue: Practical tips for recovery Author: Lydia Rolley The Fatigue Book is a useful and practical handbook full of tips to manage fatigue conditions day to day and move towards recovery. 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 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.

I have full confidence that you will benefit from healthier sleep habits. Tip 21: Separate Day and Night Clearly 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 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. 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 The language is very simple and easy to follow. There’s no unnecessary detail or jargon. Each tip has a little proverb and/or prayer associated with it. I’m not religious so I was ambivalent about the prayers, but I do really like the proverbs. There are also great illustrations and diagrams throughout, which is not only visually pleasing but also helps to demonstrate some of the points.Each chapter has an overarching theme, from sleep to motivation, pacing to community. Within, each is broken up into tips to act on, with illustrations and proverbs encapsulating the main points. Where appropriate, there is space to make your own notes, and useful templates that can be photocopied. 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. Many of us are searching for ways to deal with a level of exhaustion that prevents us from managing our day to day lives. 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. This may deter some readers, while others find it comforting. I felt that there was so much of use and benefit to anybody trying to manage a chronic fatigue condition that I could overlook the regular religious references.