Christmas
is a challenging time for women everywhere and especially if you have MS. Round about October time it can look like a
particularly huge mountain to climb that is looming ahead.
Why
is this? Because largely for us mothers
we are motivated by the fear of our children's faces before us wearing an
expression of disappointment and representing our failure. In this way failure to 'do Christmas' properly
means that we have failed as a mother and a woman too.
This
is especially true if you have a Scandinavian family background as I do. For in Scandinavia Christmas is especially
important, even more so than in the UK, if that is possible. in terms of decorations, cuisine, presents
and tradition Christmas reaches heady heights: the bar is set incredibly high.
It
is therefore at this time of year, being a Woman with MS, that I have to be
especially careful not to exhaust myself totally. Fatigue management is especially important at
this time of year Otherwise festive
fatigue (FF) can set in in a big way. Severe
FF can result in a ruined Christmas Day when you are too tired to enjoy it and
left thinking 'why oh why did I overreach myself?'.
Consequently
I have learned over the years several tricks to employ in order to avoid
this. Firstly it is essential to break
down that looming mountain that is Christmas into smaller and more manageable
hills. Writing lists really helps break big tasks down into smaller ones, so
write as many lists as possible and work your way through them methodically.
Next,
pace yourself. This is an essential
skill in the fatigue management armoury anyway but especially important in
avoiding FF. Never be tempted to go Christmas
shopping and then attempt a seasonal drinks party in the evening as we'll: it
is one or the other I'm afraid but not both.
Also,
start your Christmas shopping really early.
It is not a bad idea to become one of those really annoying people who
takes up buying Christmas present bargains in the summer sales and hides them
away somewhere: just do not forget where
the hiding place is (that has happened to me before now and is intensely
annoying). Be realistic and do not
attempt to achieve more than one task per day
Use
your diary to the max. Use it to plan in
essential tasks, for example 'December 1st, put Christmas
decorations up'. This way you will not
be surprised by things that jump on you from behind, like the Ghost of
Christmas Soon.
From
experience I have found that although this pre-Christmas planning sounds a bit
like a military operation it is best not to over plan Christmas Day itself so
that it withers and dies from lack of spontaneity. Rather, let it unfold naturally as it wants
to. That way you can sit back and enjoy it and trust that your efforts will pay
dividends behind the scenes.
Never
ever be tempted to host Christmas Day yourself. Leave this up to the able bodieds who are
mad enough to offer. For several years I
was forced to do this against my better judgment because I was living at home
with young children around. Each year it
took me about a month to recover and each year I was left saying 'never again!'. But each year it comes round again. Christmas is one of those universal laws
that you just cannot stop. Resistance is
pointless: it just makes you unhappy and earns you an unwelcome 'bah! humbug!'
reputation.
Hopefully
by now you will be able to enjoy an FF free Christmas with your family around
you feeling really smug when your friends complain of how exhausted and stressed
they feel. The ultimate goal here is to
have a Christmas without stress because as everyone with MS knows stress is
just about the worst thing for the condition.
Anyway
I wish all Centre members a really enjoyable, FF free and stress free Christmas
with plenty of family togetherness, for it is this that is really important at
this time of year. Happy Christmas to
one and all!
December
2013