Overcome Chronic Fatigue Syndrome using mind-body healing techniques

I suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for about 15 years, since the age of 14. I had all the usual symptoms: extreme exhaustion, brain-fog, inability to concentrate, difficulties with short-term memory, irritability, noise intolerance, low moods, diarrhoea, puffy eyes, recurring viruses and infections. The most severe of these symptoms were fatigue and brain-fog because these hindered my functioning the most. Sometimes the symptoms were worse than at other times, but I rarely felt good. There were periods when I slept for 15 hours a day, but still felt exhausted. No amount of good sleep could make me feel good. And I had no idea what was going on with me! The fatigue and brain-fog would only cease for a couple of hours in the evenings, but most of the time I felt a lot worse than normal.

It was in 2005 that I finally found out that I had CFS. I then started to look for ways to heal myself, found a website on Reverse Therapy and started to apply the principles of this therapy on myself. The idea of the therapy itself is easy, but applying it can be hard work. The idea is basically this: All the symptoms are here to deliver us a message... that we are out of touch and out of tune with our bodies and emotions, that we are not living our lives in accordance with our own emotional truth and inner guidance. We have acquired beliefs that are not necessarily true from our body-mind's point of view and so our body-minds HAVE TO send us messages (feelings-emotions-symptoms) to let us know that we are not acting in a natural way - that we have lost touch with what we really feel. So the solution is to reestablish the contact with our true selves and start acting in accordance with our real feelings and emotions.

It's really simple, but it took me quite long to understand this basic concept and even longer to start applying it in my life. I had great difficulty in paying attention to my emotions and the body as I had become used to blocking and denying what was happening in me. But I had to start paying attention to my body and emotions in order to recover from CFS. And I also had to start living my life according to my real feelings. This process that would otherwise have been too long and difficult, was greatly facilitated by two techniques - EFT and TAT. These techniques can transform you in quite a short time and they are great for overcoming the emotional traumas and blocks that may be causing your symptoms.

Now, in 2009 I am healthy again - I do not have any fatigue or brain-fog and no other symptoms. I am full of energy throughout the day and feel better than ever before. I encourage everyone with CFS, M.E or Fibromyalgia to look deeply in themselves and see if there are any emotional problems that might be the core of the condition. There may be other ways to beat CFS, but as far as I'm concerned you really need to change your behavior and outlook for recovery to happen.

I wrote a book about my recovery: "A Manual for Dealing with CFS" and hope that it will be of help to people who are suffering from this condition.

Mind-body healing is a completely natural and drug-free approach. It means getting in touch with our bodies and minds: What is really happening in me? What am I feeling? What do I really want? It's about finding out what kind of beliefs, emotions or traumas are causing us to be cut from our senses and healing those beliefs, emotions and traumas. The aim is to reestablish the contact with our bodies and minds so that we are aware of what is happening in and around us. From that position we can make empowered choices about how we want to feel and how we want to live our lives. It's really up to ourselves!

Change can be slow and hard, but it doesn't have to be - there are many techniques we can use to facilitate healing and change. I find EFT and TAT the easiest and most powerful techniques of all. And they don't cost anything if you are able to do them on your own. These techniques are invaluable tools and I encourage everyone to try them. The instructions are freely available on the internet and once you learn the techniques, you can deal with ANY emotional imbalance and almost any disease in the comfort of your own home without any costs for medicine. Isn't this amazing?

True, it is easier and safer to attend therapy sessions and have professionals guide you through the healing process, but professional help may not always be available. Good EFT and TAT practitioners are few and far between, especially in the part of the world where I live, but luckily the information is available and anyone who is really motivated can learn to use these techniques and possibly recover.

I am grateful that there are such techniques as EFT and TAT. They really are powerful and they really do work. Just try and see for yourself - there is nothing to lose - except your negative emotions and CFS/M.E. of course.

1. Start keeping a symptom diary

Record all the times when you have symptoms. If you have CFS or Fibromyalgia, you probably have background symptoms all the time, but there are times when the symptoms get worse and times when you feel better. Notice how you feel emotionally at both times and note it down along with the information on where you were and what were you doing at the time. This will give you clarity about your symptoms and your particular case and after a while - perhaps a month - you will see that CFS is not just an "arbitrary increase and decrease of symptoms" but has its own logic. Aim at understanding this logic. Then you can start making changes.

2. Imagine yourself as being well and happy

The fact that our mind is a powerful tool and our thoughts and emotions have the power to create our reality is not a secret anymore. Creating a healthy image of yourself is a very important step in the process of recovery. Lack of vision of good health is one of the obstacles to regaining health. I used to be so caught up in seeing myself as a sufferer and had started to regard the condition as "normal and inevitable." When I learned the simple yet powerful truth that our minds can actually bring about profound changes in our lives, I consciously started to choose and visualize a healthy image of myself. It was difficult to do in the beginning because I was so used to seeing myself as a sufferer, but I tried to keep the vision alive no matter what. I pictured myself being full of energy and always happy, doing things I love to do and living my life just the way I want to. I suggest you throw the idea of being a sufferer out of your mind and out of your vocabulary. Instead, you can refer to yourself as someone who has recovered or is recovering, and see yourself as someone who is healthy or is in the process of regaining health. Stop going on websites and forums where there is no creative and positive inspiration for recovery - complaining, arguing and criticizing does not help you to recover. If you have to visit forums, choose the ones that are focused on recovery and healing rather than dwelling on the impossibility of healing.

3. Learn to meditate and make it your regular practice

It has nothing to do with a religion or belief. Meditation is just about being here right now. It's about your own experience in this moment. Start meditating regularly because it will greatly facilitate the process of regaining your health. Meditation helps you to calm your mind and see what is really happening in you. It helps you to calm yourself and reduce the stress that comes from the constant pain and suffering CFS creates. When you meditate, you allow yourself to feel whatever you feel in the moment, accepting everything without trying to change anything. Things are as they are already anyway so why not just see how things are? It won't make it worse. Instead, it helps you to start seeing and paying attention... and start letting go of the stuff in your head that you don't need and that is causing you suffering. Without this awareness we are unable to see what is going on in our heads and let the mind make life hard for us. But it doesn't have to be that way! We can start breaking free from the prison of our minds and enjoy the open meadows of joy and peace. You need clarity to overcome CFS/M.E. and meditation will give you that clarity.

The first thing you can do is to listen to all of the sounds around you as if you were listening to music. Look at all the objects as if you saw them for the first time. Pay attention to your whole body - the weight of your body, the touch of clothes on your skin, the temperature in your surroundings, all the sensations (pleasant or unpleasant). Feel your emotions and observe your thoughts the way they are in this moment. See, hear, feel, smell and taste what is going on around you and in you and keep doing so. If you can make this shift in your way of being, you will be well on the way to regaining full health.

The two words that best describe TAT are:

Simple & Powerful

TAT can be used for a variety of conditions and the areas of use seem to be unlimited (or limited by our beliefs only). Simply amazing!

Try it for yourself and see if it's true! Download the TAT manual from www.tatlife.com and you can get started immediately. The link below will direct you to TATLife's store where DVDs and other useful materials can be purchased.

I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND ANY INFORMATION ON THIS LENS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS MEDICAL ADVICE. I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL OF ANY THERAPY, I AM SIMPLY SOMEONE WHO WAS DETERMINED ENOUGH TO HEAL CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME BY HIMSELF. FOR PROFESSIONAL HELP, PLEASE CONSULT A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL.