SELF-CARE – PACING

So what is pacing?  It’s a self-help and management technique I learnt when I became disabled from an autoimmune condition some 18 years ago and not able to move around and 'do' as I had before.

I quickly learnt to regulate the effort, speed and energy I had throughout my day.  In short, it means, do not use all our energy in the morning on tasks and have nothing left for the afternoon. Slow and steady is the name of this game.

Pacing needs to involve our mental and physical self our social interactions and very important in managing health issues whether short-term or long-term conditions.

Pacing prevents burn-out, enhancing our output, performance whilst improving our focus which allows us to concentrate on the task at hand in the here and now, even if we suffer with chronic fatigue, illnesses or just plain ole burnt-out.

Pacing needs to become your best friend.   

I've since found pacing is a thing, a theory created by Dr Leonard Jason for his patients who suffer with ME/CFS or chronic fatigue. I find it works for anyone who's battery runs low or when we are running on empty.

Utilizing 5 Ps i.e. Planning, Positivity, Prioritization, Positioning and Pacing to conserve our energy at time of stress, pain or fatigue.

Pacing ourselves involves breaking tasks down to manageable steps e.g. cleaning the house one room at a time and then taking a break between each room.  Doing only one room at a time and taking a break every 15 minutes depending on your default energy.

Or it can look like waking up, sitting up and turning round putting our feet on the floor to get out of bed then taking a rest before we get out, shower, rest, dry, rest, get dressed, rest, go downstairs, rest, make breakfast rest, rest rest rest depending on your energy levels.

We pace ourselves by identifying our ‘energy envelope’ this is recognizing our physical, emotional and mental limitations and understanding if we go over them on a regular basis we will burn-out at some point. 

If we monitor our energy expenditure over a week or so closely we can identify our patterns of going over our limitations and manage our energy more efficiently.

Of course, if you are fit and able bodied pacing means not going at full speed all day every day, it means spreading your energy evenly throughout your day and taking regular breaks every couple of hours.

For those of us that are impaired pacing is vital for us to understand what affects us, what makes our symptoms worse and how we can gain some control over our symptoms to enhance our overall well-being and how we feel about our self.

Thinking about our personal energy envelop and how to stay within our limits we can ask ourselves questions such as

• Am I staying within my envelop?

• Have I used up all my energy for today?

  
  

• What are my  vulnerabilities?

  
  

• What are my  strengths?

• What do I personally need?

• Am I comparing myself to others?

• Which area needs more attention? 

• Am I getting the best from myself?

For example, I may be strong in my mental capacity but very weak in my physicality or my bodily strength is good and my mental health not so balanced or considered strong.

So do I need to adjust one area to strengthen it slowly?  Do I need to work less on one area e.g. for me, my mental capacity was my strongest asset, in the beginning, well still is here and now.

If we can learn as much as we can about our personal ‘energy envelop’ this holds all our limitations so we are aware and understand we need to stay within it and adjust our output as we get stronger or maintain our output at a more comfortable level for us personally.

Over time we need to assess ourselves in many areas of our being and living  to build a picture of our personal energy envelope you could start with assessing your basic needs e.g.

• Safety – do I feel safe if not why not and what do I need to feel safe?

  
  

• Emotionally – is my nervous system regulated if not what do I need to return to regulation and homeostatic? Personal therapy? Self-help? Calm and rest?

• Cognitively - how are my thoughts are they racing, negative, intrusive, depressed?

• Food – is my diet balanced?  Am I getting enough vitamins, minerals etc et  

• Hydration – am I drinking enough water for me personally?  Do I even know how much is enough for me to keep me healthy?

• Sleep – am I getting enough to keep my mind and blood pressure healthy?

• Exercising – am I incorporating physical exercise into my day? 

This will be different for everyone if you are fit and able bodied an hour at the gym may seem a breeze but if your energy is low overall aiming for something like 500 steps throughout your day may be enough for you or if you are a wheelchair user depending on your mobility a few arm raisers may be suffice.

Don’t compare yourself to others, remember this is about your personal needs and your ‘energy envelop’ and getting the best our of you for you not anyone else.

Pacing – am I working and moving around at a pace that is healthy for me?

Gentle pushing limits but not over exerting self, it is a fine balancing act and our goal may be to maintain what I am doing here and now without pushing at all - its what you personally need and want and need to do to be healthy overall.

These areas are a good starting point before adding other things on as you develop your understanding such as other activities e.g. reading, moving around, socializing, housework, stressors etc etc.

Use a simple scaling tool to measure your progress or your limitations 1-100, 1 being low and 100 being high, so I might record my emotionality at 80% and I might ask do I want it to be higher?  If so what can I do to achieve that?

Or my physicality is at 40%, yes, I want it to be higher however is this realistic?  Can this score go higher with the health conditions I have?  If I answer no then I can ask myself what can do to improve my strength in this area?  For me I bought a Revitive and a LegXercise machines both help my circulation and improve my leg strength.

It’s not about being in competition with anyone else but aiming to get the best from yourself, with what you can realistically do, accepting what we can't, and with the means you have to to do.

Once you have a good measure of your limitations and strengths focus upon strengthening what you have to enhance your overall well-being your personal capabilities nothing more and nothing less.

Start slowly but surely, keep your motivation going.

Also think about who can help you with your daily tasks or your tasks to help your well-being?   It is a strength to ask for help and support whilst you are exploring what you can and can’t do, don't suffer in silence or alone if there is someone who can support you.

Final words

Fill your envelop - never empty it fully.

If you live in the British Isle and are in needs of counselling support for any of the above. I offer a free 30 mins video call so we can meet before our first session. Contact me at email: pendulumofpeace8@gmail.com text or WhatsApp message to 07867938630 and lets connect and realise your fullest potentials.