Pacing

Pacing is a skill that has become important to the post viral syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome communities, but it is something that many more people could benefit from learning. It is now becoming important for those with long covid as well, as it has many parallels with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Those people who find themselves fatigued easily for any reason, or suffer from grief, exhaustion, or any number of debilitating symptoms, could do well to learn to pace themselves. However those with chronic fatigue syndorme or long covid often have post-exertional malaise- when they do too much, which can be very little, it doesn’t help build their stamina, it makes them worse.

Pacing means, when you find yourself with more energy you don't burn it all up by being manically busy. You pace yourself. You save some energy, some reserve.

Otherwise, on the other side is an energy crash waiting to happen. A day in bed, low energy, feeling unable to accomplish much.

It's easy to feel we are "behind" and need to "catch up" when we suffer from any sort of chronic illness, and then find ourselves having a good or better than usual morning or day. However, pacing is a healthier, more sustainable approach that can also result in energy leftover for long-term healing.

Staying within a sustainable energy envelope, not overdoing it, is a well-studied practice, leading to more sustainable progress and functionality.

Some people are using (hacking) smart watches to monitor themselves and keep themselves within their energy envelope. Some watches, like Garmin, have a Body Battery reading, which shows how much “battery” you have for the day and how quickly you drain it. Some people use smart watches to monitor their heartrate, and may even set an alarm when it gets too high, which is much more common in these conditions- even just standing up can skyrocket the heartrate for some people.

Some smart watches can help tell what types of rest are effective, as rest can be very difficult for these people. Even when lying down or sleeping, deep rest is not necessarily happening. Watching TV or social media may not trigger a switch over to the parasympathetic nervous system, but a guided meditation, audiobook or breathing exercises might.

Pacing is an essential skill, and can be far easier said than done.

Do you need to pace yourself today?