When Taking a Shower and Getting Dressed Wears You Out

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Sunday, on my Facebook page, Chronic Fatigue and Creative Decluttering, I made the statement:  Sometimes, I have to "make" myself do things like getting dressed, when it seems like it should be the simplest thing in the world. It would be dishonest for me to make it sound like everything I do is easy... There were several comments that let me know I am not the only one that feels that way. 

It takes energy to dress, to take a shower, to fix hair, and to put on makeup. It isn't that people with illnesses don't care about how they look.  It is just hard to have enough energy left to do housework or go shopping when we spend much time on how we look.

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One of my readers had a great suggestion for starting the day.  Since I love the way she worded her suggestion, I got permission to quote her. Nicole Whittaker says,  Sit in a comfy chair for twenty minutes.  Drink a glass of water.  It gently gets your body energy [flowing].  Use a shower chair, loverly smelling body wash.  Then something simple for breakfast.  Cereal and milk.  (Gently wakes you up, removes stress and gives you something to look forward to instead of dread, because you are taking your time, but doing something.)

If you start out your morning rushed with somewhere to go, Nicole's method is hard to do.  However, if you prepare, it is possible.  One has to prepare to work around one's needs.  If I have someplace I need to go in the morning, I take my shower the night before.  I dry my hair with my styling tools, so all I have to do in the morning is simple touch ups.  Also, I plan what I am going to wear the night before.

Rushing is an energy killer.  When you feel rushed, it's like a vacuum cleaner has sucked out all the energy, and left you feeling stressed and nervous. Therefore, think ahead when you know you have to go somewhere and prepare.

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Some  cleaning gurus are real sticklers about getting dressed, but good looking lounge clothes, yoga pants, as well as comfortable leggings and tunics are comfortable everyday wear.  You can even crawl back into bed if necessary. However, there is something to be said for getting dressed.  It helps you to feel ready for the day.  Also, you are ready to walk out of the house at a moments notice.

However, there is nothing wrong with cleaning in pajamas.  I have done it before, and I will probably do it again.  And it is lovely taking a shower after cleaning, usually sitting on my shower chair, because I am so very, very tired.  You know the feeling--more than fatigued.  Finding language that helps a healthy person understand the bone-deep post exertional malaise is often difficult.  Most of us do not entirely understand, unless we have experienced it.  And once you have experienced what people with CFS/ME or Fibromyalgia have experience, you would not wish it on anyone else.