It's been a while, I know 
But here at long last is another contribution to this blog dedicated to giving information, support and advice about the condition M.E.
M.E. and surviving Christmas
Christmas should be a time for celebration (whatever your beliefs), relaxation and whiling away the hours in good company, with a bottle in one hand. It is more likely, for most, to be a time of stress, exhaustion and catching forty winks when all around you have passed out. Add M.E. into the equation and you have an already ‘worn out’ body trying to do more than is humanly possible all for the sake of a few days of festivities, which most people will have little, if any, memory of.
I remember one Christmas, back in the early days of my M.E. when I literally thought my head would explode because the pain in my sinuses was that severe! I had never felt anything like it and just wanted to bury my head under the duvet until January 2nd. Of course, I didn’t because you seldom get away with ‘hiding’ over Christmas.
Another year I was sat at the Christmas dinner table between two family members who kept my glass constantly topped with red wine and by 5pm I was rolled up in my duvet, by the radiator sleeping like a baby. You try to join in and yes, at times you really enjoy yourself, but Christmas, like any other period of exertion, leaves its legacy: decline, downturn, relapse.
Call it what you wish, and it will depend on your current state of health, but generally you’ll all agree that it is impossible to ‘do’ Christmas without spending the first quarter of the New Year (at least) getting yourself back to a more manageable state of health.
And so I present to you this: a light-hearted guide to surviving Christmas:
Buying presents
The problem…
Anyone who thinks that the stresses and strains of Christmas begin on Christmas Eve is sorely mistaken, or male. The whole thing starts somewhere around the end of November when you suddenly realise that the festivities are only a month away and you haven’t written your Christmas list, let alone visited a shop and purchased anything that remotely resembles a present.
And then there’s Christmas cards. Before you’ve even bought or wrapped a present, cards must be sent far and wide to your near and dear, all prior to Mr Postman knocking off for sherry and mince pies. It’s a daunting task to remember daily duties when you have M.E. and the extra chores of Christmas only increase the pressure you’re under, to the point where omitting Great Aunt Sylvia’s Next Door Neighbour’s Cat from your Christmas card list suddenly makes you feel like a failure.
The solution…
The internet – get connected, get surfing and get Christmas to come to you!
Decking the Halls
The problem…
It wouldn’t be Christmas without glitzy decorations and flashing fairy lights adorning every window, but there is a price to pay - apart from the electricity bill - your health. First you have to locate the stuff from the deep dark depths of storage hell – your loft, then you must hang it somewhere in a stylish-enough fashion so it doesn’t look as though the Christmas fairy tripped up on the way down the stairs and dropped her spoils carelessly all over your house.
The solution…
Go for the minimalist look. Get the partner and kids to help – they’ll probably enjoy it anyway. If you are particularly sensitive to bright lights opt for something subtle.
Festive food and drink
The problem…
Let’s be honest here, Christmas food and drink does little to aid the digestion of an M.E. sufferer, many of whom will experience IBS and migraines on top of the usual aches, pains and fatigue. You can abstain completely and feel as bad as usual with the added misery of being a killjoy, or you can join in as if you are as fit as the next person and be well and truly en route for a relapse come New Year.
The solution…
Worry less, have what you feel like when you feel like it, pace yourself and avoid any food or drink that you know will guarantee you a miserable Christmas. If you cannot tolerate alcohol treat yourself to some ‘posh’ soft drinks and drink them in a wine glass.
Not-so-spring cleaning
The problem…
Christmas is coming. Relatives, friends, friends’ of friends and their boyfriends’ friends will be visiting. You launch yourself into an unrelenting cleaning spree as if the Queen will be making her speech from your sofa.
The solution...
Don’t clean what doesn’t need cleaning! Visitors come to see you, not your sparkling floors and if you catch anyone dipping their finger in the layer of dust on top of your television, wrap up a duster as an extra present and let them make themselves useful!
Visiting the family
The problem…
Why is it that come Christmas your usually placid friends and family all seem to demand a time slot? It’s virtually impossible to squeeze in all the relatives, in what to some is only a two-day holiday, so you have to let somebody down – that’s natural and we all do it because none of us are superman/woman.
The solution…
Say no! Don’t feel bad about breaking dates or not turning up to the party. Put yourself top of your list. Try getting people to come to you instead and get them to bring a bottle and a plate of food each. Hold small gatherings during daylight hours and make sure you insist that people only stay for a couple of hours. Have help at hand to tidy up.
Clearing Christmas away
The problem…
Uneaten food, empty bottles, enough scrunched up wrapping paper to restore at least one forest, car boot loads of flashy new toys that will be discarded with the old ones by mid-January, unpulled crackers, more empty bottles, cardboard boxes big enough to set sail in, little-tinselly-bitty-things of unknown origin, even more empty bottles…
The solution…
Get somebody else to do it! Make a game out of tidying up for children and keep back some of those Christmas chocolates as prizes for the fastest clearaway! Don’t forget to recycle all those empties
Most of all remember to enjoy yourself. You will not be struck down by a thunderbolt from above if you don’t get chance to vacuum on Christmas Eve or forget to buy a carrot for Rudolph. Christmas is a time of togetherness, so spend it well.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS and BEST WISHES for 2008
17/12/07 @ 19:38