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- Last Updated: 07 December 2015 07 December 2015
A Project for Those Non-Day Days
Something to prepare for those days when you're feeling especially sick or blue is your own personal "joy box." Take a large old shoe-box or other container and wrap it (and the lid separately) in brightly colored paper or whatever pleases you (stickers, rubber-stamp images, decoupage, paint, glitter glues, clips from magazines, photos of places you'd like. to travel, etc.).
Fill the box only with items that bring joy to you: seashells, photos of your family and best friends, pictures of favorite places, treasured letters and notes from friends, small toys, anything that uplifts your spirit—be creative and fill the box! Then, when you're having a particularly rough day, close your eyes and reach into the box (shake first!) to see which particular joy you've selected. Spend time letting your mind wander about what the "joy item" brings to mind—take a mental vacation and relax, thinking about dear friends, happy memories, favorite places, the joys you still have in your life.
(Idea adapted from Gypsy's Words of Wisdom Online Newsletter)
Notice about names
The Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association would like to clarify the use of the various acronyms for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Chronic Fatigue & Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) on this site. When we generate our own articles on the illness, we will refer to it as ME/CFS, the term now generally used in the United States. When we are reporting on someone else’s report, we will use the term they use. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies, including the CDC, are currently using ME/CFS.
Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association changed its name in July, 2018, to reflect this consensus.