Having ME/CFS and looking at other people get things done

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Ya know, after having this myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, ME/CFS, for almost 2 decades now ya start looking at how many things that people without it can get done in a day & start thinking,

"Naw man, there ain't no way they are getting that much done in one day 'because they are healthy', the only actual way any human being can get that much done in a day is bipolar mania, the entire population of the planet who don't have ME/CFS have got bipolar mania, all 7 billion of them, that’s the only rational explanation for it.”

At least that’s how it feels while watching them.

What I find difficult is when one used to be able to get lots done and people blame you for being lazy and bring you work because they assume that if they make things for you to do you will get used to doing things again.... Which just increases all the stress of no longer being able to do things that one could do without thinking about it.

I do not have ME.
I hit several burnouts which hit me.

Yeppers, you understand the thing.

"Getting used to doing things again" is such a fundamentally flawed concept I can't think of adequate description for how flawed it is and I'm even in the process of preparing to go to creative writers group tomorrow morning.
There is no 'getting used to' when your body simply no longer metabolizes enough energy all the way down at the mitochondrial level.
You might as well try to win a NASCAR or F1 race in a 45 horsepower Yugo.


If you have any choice in the matter keep it that way.

Dad got it in 1980s while a senior Navy officer.
I got it shortly in to 2000s after being hired to be a hobby shop manager.

I have ADHD (which makes me impatient but also slow at the same time) and I have a thyroid condition that at times has actually made me a little manic (though mostly the opposite instead). And... yeah, I feel the same way ^

I don’t really “do much.”

I’m irritated by people who always have to be “doing something.”

Don't compare yourself to other. I have CFS. If I compare myself it gets me down.

I set a goal of doing one thing a day that needs done. On Thursday I cleaned the bathroom then slept all afternoon. On Friday I worked at my desk. On Saturday I cooked. On Sunday I did the dishes left over from cooking.

That's exactly how I go about my days as well, except I'm not that organized.

If I need to leave the house for any reason (pandemic or no pandemic), then that will usually be the only "productive" thing I will do that day (or during that 2- or 3-day period, depending on what kind of errand/appointment it is). My daily life and major life decisions largely revolve around this principle. By now I'm used to thinking of time in bed or in my recliner as inherently "productive" on its own, as long as I'm not overdoing it to the point of it being bad for my health.