Freedom From ME Blog » Video Blog: Bouncing the Boundaries

Video Blog: Bouncing the Boundaries

This week’s video blog covers a particularly important issue for many on the recovery path, how to increase your activity level in a sustainable way without overdoing it. Alex also talks about the role of pacing, the different stages of recovery, and how to know when to “bounce the boundaries” of your current activity level.

Finally, for anyone interested in our professional training courses in hypnotherapy, NLP, life coaching and EFT, there is a free taster day (optional donation to The Optimum Health Clinic Foundation of £50) on Saturday 31st October at our Head Office and Training Centre in North London. Click here to download the flyer.

Tags: activity, boundaries, chronic fatigue syndrome, M.E., pacing

Psychology, Video Blog | Alex Howard | October 22, 2009 4:06 pm

12 Comments

By Rosemary Dun, October 22, 2009 @ 6:37 pm

Thanks Alex,
Yes, this makes much more sense than Pacing. I can see the difference and recognise that I do indeed now have a baseline. So I shall try and bear all this in mind. Thank you for this and all the blogs,
Rosemary
By Keryn, October 23, 2009 @ 3:58 pm

I have just done Exactly what you described, I bounced hard, and i’m really frustrated as this isn’t the first time i’ve done it. I realised watching your video that i’m even now trying to ignore my bodys need to rest, because I don’t want to accept how bad it is again. Amazing how quickly you can slip back into old habits. So thankyou for the reminder.
Keryn
By Sue Joscelyne, October 23, 2009 @ 4:16 pm

Thanks for answering the question I have been asking for so long. These blogs are brilliant and I like them weekly.Sue J.
By Lynne, October 24, 2009 @ 5:03 pm

Hi Alex, firstly to say how useful these little and often blogs are and are easy to watch with all the useful reminders that are so often needed!! This post is particularly relevant to me at the moment and am wondering if you could cover in more detail at some point how to recognise when you have moved onto stage 3? Thanks.

Lynne
By Kathryn, October 27, 2009 @ 6:26 pm

Thanks Alex, really useful. You’re explanation has helped me understand why I’m not making the progress I should be making – I was advised and tried pacing too early in my recovery and started ‘bouncing the boundaries’ too soon and too far. I feel I have another simple but very effective tool for my toolbox now!
By Sally Radnor, October 30, 2009 @ 1:23 pm

Watching this has probably prevented an impatience fuelled big bounce. Knowing the ‘why’ helps so much with the ‘how’. These blogs are great waymarks. Thank you.
By Carly, October 30, 2009 @ 6:14 pm

HI Alex,
I have been thinking myself how I really need to find a ‘baseline lately’ as years into treatment im still not doing as well as I would have hoped, and in some ways, the more ive worked on calming the system the more exhausted I continually and physically seem to be.
I found the blog really helpful and it made total sense. My problem is I am having great trouble finding that ‘baseline’. I think because I have consistent virus’s despite all the work ive done(never more than a few days without one) I continually feel exhausted and ill from these, and dont know what my level would be without a virus. Even with a virus levels vary greatly, and I want to enjoy rare ‘good days’ when I can too. Any help appreciated?
By Alex Howard, October 30, 2009 @ 9:08 pm

Thanks everyone for comments… Carly – the most important thing is really listening to your body (and then not running anxiety patterns about what it may or may not say)… this is of course a skill and something that pracs in the clinic can definitely help you harness…
By John D, October 30, 2009 @ 11:05 pm

Thanks again Alex – your description at the start of th evideo is so spot on – sometimes resting helps, sometimes makes you feel worse, sometimes “over-doing it” gives a much better few days and then a crash.
Knowing others have been through this and not finding the patterns one would expect is certainly helpful.
and …Neil is brilliant too – where can I get his book and DVD (Amazon don’t have it)?
Thanks again
By Alex Howard, October 30, 2009 @ 11:47 pm

Thanks everyone for the great feedback, I really appreciate it… John, you can get Neil’s book and DVD from http://www.chikri.com
By Carly, October 31, 2009 @ 10:45 am

Hi Alex
Thanks very much for the advice, its much appreciated and of course you are right – I am getting caught up in the fustration of the inconsistency and the fact I dont feel very good still – Need to work on this.

I perhaps also do need to come back to the clinic again and do some work – for the moment though its not possible – but I shall take on board your advice and do what I can in the meantime. Thanks again.
Carly
By Lucy, April 27, 2010 @ 9:04 pm

Thanks, this has clarified what I’d always suspected about ‘graded activity’, in that it’s only going to work if your energy is on the increase anyway. Which is why it works for some people and not others.
Cheers.