What help can an ME/CFS Wellness Coach provide?

I'm a Fibromyalgia/ME/Chronic Fatigue Wellness Coach who can help you improve the way you're currently living with this condition, and ultimately move you towards recovery. Visit http://www.pamelarose.co.uk to read more about how I can help, and to read previous blogs.

Being diagnosed with ME/CFS can be a bewildering time. Medical professionals really don’t understand how it feels. And it’s a postcode lottery as to whether they will offer any help - not that there is much they can offer, in any case.

But there’s so much you can do to help yourself - and that’s where I come in as a Wellness Coach, guiding and motivating those with ME/CFS to plan and tackle their recovery journey.

The truth is, it’s down to you to define the best way to cope and live with this debilitating illness. Wading through the minefield of hints and tips - and so-called miracle cures - while all the time dealing with the sense of fear and frustration that the lack of any clear prognosis brings.

It’s not great. I know, I’ve been there. I was diagnosed back in 2010, and although I’m one of the lucky ones, recovery was a slow and gradual process.

As my recovery continued, and I started to feel healthier and stronger each week, I recognised how fortunate I was in so many ways. I felt so grateful that the combination of things I’d incorporated into my daily life had achieved such great results. So what made me one of the ‘lucky’ ones who managed to achieve recovery?

Consistency, determination and a strong support network. Those are the things that made the biggest difference. Of course, there were a host of practical and tangible things too. But without consistency, determination and my support network, I have no doubt that they wouldn’t have taken hold.

I realised that my years as a corporate coach, coupled with my naturally positive demeanour, had given me the determined and steady approach that I’d needed over the years that it took to recover. I understood that I shouldn’t underestimate the part it played in helping me become one of the rare success stories.

This turned into an absolute determination to do what I could to help others tackle their own recoveries. And as my strength grew, I found the courage to leave the corporate career that had previously defined me to re-train and set myself up as a Wellness Coach, to help those tackling their own ME/CFS journeys.

My fascination with performance coaching and NLP has allowed me to turn my personal recovery experience into a framework that I use to coach my clients. This flexible session structure allows me to guide them through relevant options and define a path to follow. We then work together to ensure they stay motivated and consistent as improvements are monitored. Initially, the focus is often solely around finding better coping mechanisms. But once that’s been achieved, we set our sights on achieving improvements and - the ultimate goal - recovery.

My approach considers and covers a wide range of factors - from pacing tips, to healing therapies, as well as tools and techniques to manage the anxiety that is understandably often present. Perhaps most helpful of all, I can interact with my clients from the point of view of someone who has BEEN THERE and understands. Something that I hear over and over again makes such a difference to them.

I still find it very difficult to look back over the last ten years and say “I’m glad it happened”. But if my experience of living with, and beating, ME/CFS now allows me to help others, then that feels something to be very pleased about.

If you would like to discuss how I can help you, please get in touch.