Persuasion Smith shares some thoughts on the stigma that comes with ME/CFS … We can all agree that ME/CFS is a nasty disease, particularly in its severe form, but there are abundant nasty diseases in the world. What is unique and particularly confounding about our disease is that so much controversy surrounds it, and not only surrounds it, but invades it too. It
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Jody Smith loves knitting. Again. She thought her days of knitting and purling were long over but … she’s back … A dozen years ago I was so decimated by ME/CFS that I couldn’t read, watch TV, or flip through a magazine. My days were spent zipping back and forth along the spectrum of waking and sleeping. I was wide
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Jody Smith has been taken by surprise by the value of having a dog when dealing with ME/CFS … There’s been plenty of research indicating that having pets is good for your health. I never really noticed any particular benefits to having cats, though that may have had more to do with my cats. They’ve been fairly indifferent to my presence and
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For Jody Smith, the ticking of a clock was enough at one time to chase her back to her bed. But with the passage of time, she has been able to reclaim her living room … I have two clocks in my living room. One clock is on the wall across from where I usually sit at my computer. The
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If you’re ever at Jody Smith‘s house, don’t bother asking anybody if they are hungry … One of the most ridiculous questions you can ask in my house is “Are you hungry?” There are three of us here and for many years, none of us ever got hungry. When our brains would turn to mush, when our faces would go
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Jody Smith continues to try to put into words the horror of the altered state that hobbles the brains of those with ME/CFS … If you’re not a fan of hallucinatory drugs you’re gonna hate ME/CFS. When I first became ill in March of 1992, the feeling of altered reality inside my head, the shaking which could not be seen
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After having lived for years with ME/CFS, Jody Smith learned there’s more to this beast of an illness than she realized, and that what might help one person may not help others … When I first got back online five years ago, I was naive in the ways of this beast we call ME/CFS. I guess I thought that whatever it
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Jody Smith finds that even with ME/CFS, new life as symbolized by the mighty egg, can still spring forth … The egg has been a symbol of new life since ancient times. Recently, this symbolism has struck home for me in my own life. I’ve eaten a lot of eggs in my life. Particularly in my vegetarian years,
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Jody Smith marvels at how much difference one hour can make to those with ME/CFS, as much of the world has endured The Time Change in recent weeks … Where I live, we recently went through a time change, compliments of Daylight Savings Time. Having ME/CFS, I don’t need to travel anywhere to get jet lag. I just need the clock
ContinueJody Smith considers how things we consider beautiful can help feed a starving soul … I spent every day for years propped up on pillows on my bed. I could see out my window to the left. My messy closet was to the right. Looking straight ahead I saw a television, a messy desk and a dresser. Then one year
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It has been seven years since Jody Smith began seeing her Naturopath Doctor. Time then for a brief reflection on the extent to which a variety of interventions may have helped move Jody forwards in her own battle with ME/CFS… February, this year, marks seven years since I began seeing my naturopath, Dr. Kelly Upcott. For six and a half
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Jody Smith considers how her life had become one of necessary isolation, and how a chance encounter with new neighbours and the possibility of having them in her home, led to feelings of fear and insecurity. Looking back she reflects on how these concerns have slowly improved and how the occasional visitor is now more welcome… I live in a cul-de-sac
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