Advice from a long-distance runner



A long-distance runner gave this advice on the radio and it struck me that this is how I deal with ME pain. Actually, it started with tinnitus, rather than pain. I don&#39;t know quite when the tinnitus began, but it was decades ago and it could be a manifestation of my ME. It was puzzling at first, as I could not identify the source of the sound. Once I had realized that it was tinnitus, I decided to ignore it. It hasn&#39;t gone away, but it doesn&#39;t bother me, as I am still able to distinguish external sounds. The ME pain has been with me all the time - more than 55 years at the time of writing - and at first I just wanted it to go away. However, it never did, but on the other hand it didn&#39;t get markedly worse and there was no obvious physical damage. So I adopted the same approach as to the tinnitus: ignore the pain. It doesn&#39;t go away, but I don&#39;t worry about it. I just get on with life and am not unduly inconvenienced by the pain. And even when I get a really sharp twinge, I don&#39;t bother to wince, as it makes no difference to the pain, but tends to worry other people. This saves me having to explain that I know why I have a pain, but it is not something that can be remedied. Of course, there is a downside. I tire very easily and so lack stamina. However, it is impossible to know whether the tiredness is caused by the pain, or whether the two things are concomitant symptoms, so there is no point in worrying about it. AFJ January 2021