First the bad news. There is no absolute guarantee of recovering from ME/Chronic Fatigue or fixing any other very complicated problem.
More bad news (but good news is coming) the potential for fatigue recovery can look very bleak with most modern doctors indicating there is no cure for chronic fatigue in fact the CDC opens one of their articles with the following sentence “There is no cure or approved treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).” Link
Most mainstream medical professionals believe that chronic fatigue is incurable. A major reason for this is that they are generally trained to look for one cause and one cure.
Example: Pneumonia is often caused by a specific bacteria so the fix is to simply identify the bacteria and administer an antibiotic that will kill it. Problem solved.
In fact that approach works amazingly well for many common medical issues. But that same approach is highly ineffective with multi-causal problems such as ME/CFS. Which is a big reason ME/CFS is generally viewed as incurable by most medical professionals.
Now beginning the good news! Despite the prevailing medical opinion and that many people struggling with severe fatigue problems often try one thing after another without success, many people do actually recover from chronic fatigue. “Recovery from CFS: 50 Personal Stories” by Alexandra Barton Is just one book with such evidence. Here is a specific example from another source. And another.
If you read a number of recovery stories, you will discover they're nearly all different and in that way they're the same. Most report discovering multiple contributing factors to the development of chronic fatigue and nearly all use a combination of different methods to develop their recovery. It is this fairly inconsistent pattern that leads those who are looking for a single cause and or single cure to nearly always come up short.
So the question then is: “Is recovery just a gamble, a hit-and-miss process that might work for some but not for others? Actually NO, while there are usually multiple contributing factors both to the disease and to the recovery, the process of discovering the pieces of your recovery doesn't have to be a gamble in the dark.
Here Is a basic approach to the process that can significantly increase your odds of success. It is simple with only four steps but can help you organize the process of discovering the important pieces to your fatigue recovery puzzle.
How to G.R.O.W. your solution to fatigue
G - Gather ideas.
Gathering ideas and information about possible causes and solutions is the first step in this process. During this stage cast a wide net. Consider a wide variety of potential causes and solutions. But don't worry, you don't need to learn every single possible cause or every single possible solution just enough so that you have a number of choices to pick from.
R - Review options
Review all these ideas using at least two criteria:
One- is this potential solution something you could actually implement? It is something you could actually do. If not, rule it out.
Two - Does it seem to have a reasonable possibility of contributing to a solution? You are not looking for the one thing that would cure everything. That basically doesn’t exist. You need to simply consider if the idea/method/tool has a reasonable possibility of adding a useful piece to your fatigue solution?
This may not be the easiest criteria to figure out but reading stories of people with similar symptoms might give you a clue about what did and did not work for them and may point you in a direction that might work for you. Also, if it's a method recommended by a reputable organization it may indicate a higher probability of usefulness.
Finally, pray about these options. Present them to the Lord and ask for his wisdom and guidance. If you sense him nudging you in a direction, prioritize those choices.
The Goal is to narrow your list of all possible solutions down to just 2 or 3 you can concentrate on in the near future. Don't try to do too many because you'll probably have a difficult time tracking and implementing too many different changes all at once.
On the other hand, it is probably a good idea to start with at least two. While it does make it a bit more difficult to say for sure if one specific method or technique was the cause for your improvement it could speed up the process of learning which methods actually work for you.
O - Operationalize choices
Operationalize your chosen potential solutions into your life. In other words, just do it!
In many cases if you aren't sure if those options will work it can be a good idea to make a limited term commitment to follow through on whatever routine/product/method you're trying to use for at least two months. Two months of course is not some Golden Rule but pick a time that's long enough to potentially produce real results. However, your commitment should also be short enough that you don't waste too much time on something you see zero results from. The idea is to look for the sweet spot where you can be pretty certain you would get some results if this particular method/technique or tool could work but keep your commitment short enough that you don’t run a high risk of getting overwhelmed and feeling like giving up.
W - Weigh evidence
Weigh the evidence. After you have tried your two to four chosen techniques/products/tools for your minimum amount of time, review the results. Do you feel stronger? Do you have more energy or are any of your symptoms reduced? Did things get worse? Note all those results, preferably in writing.
It may seem like a failure if you try something and it doesn't work or seemingly worse, increases your symptoms, but regardless of the result it's real world information about what does or does not work for you and that information is incredibly valuable. That is the most important information to lead you towards a solution to your fatigue.
A great way to track this information so that you can see it more clearly is to keep a daily journal. You don't have to go super scientist on it and try to document every single detail. Simply answering a few simple questions every day will likely give you a pretty clear picture as to whether something might be helping you or not.
- How much energy did I have today? Answer on a scale 0 - 5
- Did I do anything new or different today?
- Was my energy better in the morning or the afternoon?
- What was I thinking mostly about today?
- How did I feel after I did my chosen routine/method/product?
Keep growing towards your fatigue solution
Going through this process even once will take you a step closer to solving your fatigue puzzle. Most likely you'll discover at least 1 method routine or product helps at least some. But even if you discover that none of your chosen ideas help at all that is still good information because now you know not to waste your time on those and look for other ways. By eliminating nonworking options you're closer to discovering the ones that will work for you
In fact, that is the exact process that Thomas Edison used to develop the light bulb. When asked by a reporter how it felt to fail so much, Thomas Edison replied “I didn't fail. I just discovered a thousand ways that don't work.” Thomas Edison recognized each “failure” was actually a way to eliminate a possibility of what might have worked and each time he eliminated a possible way that didn't work it was taking him a step closer to finding a way that would work. Each failure was a lesson learned which took him a step closer to success. The same is true for you.
However, the real power of this process, the way it can “guarantee” your success finding your fatigue solution is through repeating the process over and over again choosing different methods, tools and products and discovering how each works for you personally. As you discover ones that work, hold on to them and keep trying others until you have enough pieces for your solution to solve your fatigue. If you reach a point where you are no longer making progress try switching out some of the ones that worked for some other ones to see how the new mixture affects you. There are times you may have actually stumbled across useful pieces to your solution but they failed to work the first time because they weren't in the right combination or the right order when you tried them first. So don't be afraid to occasionally go back to earlier methods to try the same thing in a different way if you find yourself stuck in your progress.
The more times you go through this process the more concrete specific information you will gather about what does work for you and what doesn't and the more information you have about that The closer you get to your fatigue solution. Work through the G.R.O.W. process enough times and the odds increasingly stack in favor of finding your solution for your fatigue and that’s how you can “guarantee” finding a solution to your fatigue.
Have you tried a methodical “scientific” way to evaluate potential solutions for yourself before? If so, how did it work for you? What suggestions for improving the process would you suggest?
Please share your thoughts and experience below.