When you have chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and other chronic symptoms, there are some everyday movements and actions that most people assume are easy, but which really aren’t. They’re painful, draining, and sometimes impossible.
I was reminded of this yesterday when my mom called. I told her I was in recovery mode from the activities of the day before. She knew I was resting, but she didn’t seem to understand that just talking on the phone was exhausting. I was supposed to be resting, so I shouldn’t have been talking on the phone, but she thought of it as a low-energy activity. In fairness to my mom, I should have been more clear about my limitations; that’s my responsibility and no one else’s. But it did make me think about how differently we perceive things.
So here are just a few things that others think are easy but which aren’t for me. And of course, it varies from day to day. Some days sitting up is no problem. Others it’s impossible.
- Sitting up.
- Cooking.
- Walking down the street.
- Walking around my apartment.
- Keeping my eyes open.
- Standing up.
- Breathing.
- Reading.
- Eating.
- Sitting down without letting my body just drop to the sofa/chair/toilet.
- Talking.
- Singing.
- Concentrating on anything.
- Drinking water.
- Showering.
- Watching a movie and following the plot.
- Typing.
- Thinking.
- Moving my hands.
- Keeping my hands still.
What can you add to this list? Please share your ideas in the comments. Then share this with your family and friends to help raise some awareness.
Chronic Rants 
I can relate a lot to this list!