Rest Is Not a Four-Letter Word
The neverending fatigue of RA and other types of chronic illness permeates our days. k”Get more rest” they say… but how? In my new column on HealthCentral, I look at RA fatigue and innovative ways to get the rest you need so much.
“I’m tired, all the way into my aching bones and my sluggish mind. It is the kind of exhaustion that comes with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other types of chronic illness, and it rules my life with an iron hand. Talk to anyone with RA and they are likely to say the same. In fact, a recent Danish study suggested that up to 80% of people with RA and other types of autoimmune arthritis experience significant fatigue. So it’s no surprise that rest is an essential part of managing my disease, which is why it’s recommended by every single person on my medical team. But how do you get the rest you need with RA when you live in a world driven by the Cult of Busy?
We encounter it every day: When you meet a friend or acquaintance and ask how they are, the inevitable answers are “busy,” “no rest for the wicked,” or perhaps even “busy, busy, busy!” Between the work that pays the bills, the side hustle, family, a social life, and keeping up with everything on social media, it can feel as though the world is full of people burning the candle at both ends (and in the middle) and taking pride in being overwhelmed and worn out. Rest has become a four-letter word, equated with being lazy and selfish. In the process, those of us who actually need to rest, who cannot function without it, are judged just as harshly.
But the “fun” doesn’t stop there. We inevitably internalize that judgment and start beating ourselves up, adding chronic guilt to the list of symptoms of our chronic illness. When you’re not able to keep up with everything you think you ought to do, every day is consumed by a constant sense of failure. The “shoulds” alternate with “too tired” and the fight to juggle the two takes even more energy.
Let’s slam the brakes on that right now! Because we don’t have to live this way.”
Read more about how to break the pattern and get the rest you need on HealthCentral.
Tag: chronic illness, different ways to rest, fatigue, naps, RA fatigue, rest, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid disease, spoonie
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I wish I had a decent formula to say I have conquered sleep. I have not. I am often exhausted but lay awake or sleep by the not connected hour. I have tired medication, all the sleep hygiene, and even pushing to stay awake. in each case I will sleep for 1-3 hours, wake carry on sleep 1-3 hours and on and on and on.
someday I will conquer it i am certain of it.
or,,,, not