Tiredness

One particular piece of knowledge has really helped me understand the illness and start recovery: How to identify different types of tiredness. It goes beyond ME and I will be pleased to be able to identify these as I recover too, but as a patient of ME it has been incredibly helpful.
The theory is, I have been working with this for the last 6 months so I will state that it is actually true, that there are four types of tiredness.
Firstly absolutely drained- Physical Tiredness. For this the legs are like jelly, the neck is struggling to hold up the head and basically the best solution is bed rest. Possibly a sleep, but most definitely removing the burden of supporting the body in any physical activity.
Secondly comes mental, or - Cognitive Tiredness. Also called 'tired and wired' This can come about as simply reading for a long time or concentrating on a confusing conversation, but can also come about as a lot of stress building up, through work, school, family etc. etc. It is a good thing to be able to recognise this. Again a sleep might help but by staying awake, if possible some gardening, yoga or a quiet walk away from any study, books, people or the internet(!), this tiredness can be combatted with a cognitive rest through physical activity. This gives the opportunity for sleepy physical tiredness to hit at the right time; in the evening nearer bedtime. Obviously dealing with the stress which caused it in the first place is a good option too!
Thirdly comes Emotional Tiredness. Suddenly wanting to cry from sheer exhaustion for no apparent reason. This has happened to me over the years when I have had to sit down and burst into tears after a busy day or when we have been out and I have seen too many people in too short a time. It is exhausting, the body can't cope. It doesn't go into stress mode it just collapses and says "I have had enough!"
Environmental Tiredness is the last one. I knew I had been reacting to feeling tired in different ways during the years and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.(I know my parents had always said to our complaints of "I'm tired" or "I'm bored" quite simply "try and find something different to do") and it is this principle that works here. By being environmentally tired the solution is to try a different activity. You may have been slouching on the sofa for a couple of hours watching a film, suddenly the credits finish rolling, you stretch, yawn and go into the kitchen to empty the dishwasher. It works and within 5 minutes you're not that tired any more and want to go to the local gastro pub for dinner!
Now I think about why I am tired before I react to it. Yes, sometimes I just need a sleep, but other times I will try a different activity before putting my head on the pillow. With the heat still pouring down on us yesterday I was lethargic in the morning. This knowledge really helped me really think about the day. By getting out of bed yesterday lunchtime, after a morning sleep and chat on the 'phone, I came into the kitchen, decided on a muffin recipe (link) so moving around in one of my favourite places in the house, calm and comfortable, without a great deal of cognitive effort. I used a bit of energy and gave myself a couple of ticks towards sleepiness for last night.
The different stages of the illness dictate how much you can influence this sometimes- after a crash stage, pretty much all that is possible is sleep and non- activity rest, but as the progress starts and moves on, more and more control can be taken back. It is a great tool to have and I thank the researchers and study groups for giving it to me. (link)