12 Things Only Someone with Chronic Fatigue Would Understand

Chronic fatigue can be hard to explain to friends, family, and even your dog when he’s waiting to go for a walk. The exhaustion runs deep, and no amount of sleep is going to magically turn you into the energizer bunnFrom needing multiple lattes just to make it through the day, to napping before heading out the door, here are 12 things you’ll definitely be able to relate to if you live with chronic fatigue.

1. Naps won’t Well-meaning pals will say, “Hey, go nap, sleepy head.” They just don’t understand that fatigue runs deeper than a lack of sl2. Things get lost in translatiPeople often feel as though we aren’t listening to them. It’s not for lack of trying. But mentally processing things can be difficult3. It’s emotionally drainiOne of the worst parts about fatigue is realizing that we can’t accomplish what we’d like each day. It’s extremely emotionally draining. We can feel useless and like we have to be babysat.

4. Pacing yourself is necessaTo get through the day, we must fight the urge to do too much at once. When we overdo it, we can’t function during the rest of the day5. You feel frozen in tiIt can often feel like we’re frozen in time, watching everything move around us incredibly quickl6. You need to rest after basic thiFatigue means that, on the days you’re lucky enough to shower, you have to rest right after — or sometimes even during!

7. All planning goes out the dWe can wake up with the greatest intentions to knock out a bunch of to-do’s and then find that, suddenly, we don’t even have the energy to do one of those things. Simply taking a shower and eating can take a lot of effor8. Coffee isn’t optionWhen we can manage getting things on our to-do lists done, it requires a large amount of caffeine. It’s just a fact.

9. It can take days to deal with a one-time evWhen people have big events on the calendar — weddings, traveling— everyone seems to understand that resting before and after is necessary. Those of us with fatigue have to do this with just about every event or outing we have, no matter how basic.