The Get Up And Go Guru Audio Blog| CFS / ME Coach | Illness Management | Chronic Illness | Spoonie Warriors

GUGG?! Yes, In choosing the catchy, slightly tongue-in-cheek business name of The Get Up And Go Guru back in 2012, I didn’t think it completely through when it came to what the acronym would be. (This is not the first time this has happened. Read the P.S for more info!) But despite the slightly weird-sounding […] The post 001 GUGG Audio Blog – Introduction To The Get Up And Go Guru Audio Blog appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I always seem to have a number of projects on the go. My body may not want to ‘go' a lot of the time, but my mind seems like it never stops. So I wanted to tell you about my latest project, which initially may not sound like it has anything to do with the… The post My First E-Book & It’s Affiliate Program: Coming Soon appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

This project has been over 6 months in the making, but very soon I will have all my blog posts uploaded as mp3s for people to download and listen to. I am adding this aspect to my blog especially for people with CFS and other chronic illnesses who are bed-bound and/or have trouble reading. Why… The post COMING SOON: My CFS Blog In Audio To Download appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

(I started this blog 2 weeks ago, but you know how it goes … my recent health challenges have meant I haven't finished it until now. Part of the reason was also that I wanted to do the blog justice & include lots of photos to really give you a feel for why THIS event… The post Needs Must … Sometimes We Just Have To Live A Little appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I'm currently working on a longer blog about another topic, but today on Facebook I saw that a friend of mine has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia after years of battling symptoms, having a previous CFS diagnosis, and basically trying to find answers to why she is always in so much pain and fatigued. Don't we… The post Overwhelmed by Choice … CFS, Fibro & Possible Treatments appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I realised something the other night and it shocked me. I've been at war with my body. I've been treating it as if it is a traitor, and being angry and resentful of its betrayal of me. And not surprisingly, that hasn't been working out too well for me! Really, it shouldn't have come as… The post My Traitorous Body: When The Battle Turns Inward … And Self-Defeating! appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Sometimes I find it so hard to cope with this illness and pain. I put on such a good face and fool everyone so well. I write a blog about living powerfully with CFS for heaven's sake! But sometimes I really don't feel powerful. Sometimes I really don't feel like I'm coping. Sometimes I just… The post Feeling Vulnerable & Showing It: Not Easy But Sometimes Necessary When Managing CFS / ME appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

My blogs have been a bit few and far between lately, mainly due to my little stomach parasite setback. So today I just thought I'd recommend a great book I've been reading and tell you a little bit about it. Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything This amazing book by Geneen… The post Women, Food & God – A Great Book appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I love music for so many reasons and it has been my constant companion in my CFS/electrosensitivity journey. Sometimes it lifts me up, sometimes it taps into a particular emotion I find hard to articulate, sometimes it makes me want to dance and sing, sometimes it makes me feel peaceful. One way or another, it… The post 25 Songs That Lift My Spirit While Managing CFS appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I've been off the radar for a while – I just realised it's over 3 weeks since I last posted. I have been working on a few posts, but mostly I've been working on healing from the stomach parasite that has been upsetting my immune system. Turns out I wasn't so over it as I… The post Allowing the Healing – CFS, Parasites & Life appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Isn't it lovely when someone unexpectedly helps you out? Today my Mum was in town and spent the morning cleaning and tidying my house that had got out of hand while I've been wrestling my little stomach parasites to the ground and evicting them from my body (see previous post for explanation!). I'm not a… The post Cheers to the Earth Angels in Our CFS Lives appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

One of my last blogs prior to the CFS/ME/Fibro Twitter list was about dealing with a “relapse”. I put that in inverted commas because 1. It wasn't and 2. Relapse always seems a strange way to describe an illness that hasn't actually gone away in the first place. Well, after that long intro, it turns… The post Not a CFS Relapse: Just a Normal, Treatable Illness – Yippee! appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

For the first time since I became a mother in 2003, today is both Mother's Day AND International ME/CFS Awareness Day. Juggling CFS and motherhood is something I've got used to over the years, but it's far from an easy juggle. Most of the time I do pretty well, but today is not one of… The post CFS & Motherhood: A Complicated Mix on May 12 appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

As part of ME/CFS Awareness Day May 12, 2013 I thought I'd acknowledge all those people worldwide living with CFS/ME/CFIDS/Fibro who are on Twitter. I eventually want to do a blogroll too, but I've not seen a Twitter or Facebook Page CFS/ME list (it may be that I haven't looked very well!), so I thought… The post Twitter CFS / ME / FM List – May 12 ME/CFS Awareness Day appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

“No. No, no, no, no, no!! I can't be going backwards again. I was going so well. Getting so strong. On the way to recovery. What's happening?! Why am I wiped out again? It can't be. It can't be a relapse. Can it?!” Sound familiar? It certainly sounds familiar to me. Twenty-one years of the… The post 6 Ways to Deal With a CFS / ME Relapse appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

On this ANZAC day in Australia I sit and reflect on the sacrifices so many people have made in the name of war. I salute the veterans throughout the world, especially those close to my heart. But it also makes me reflective of the silent war people with CFS and pain fight daily. My own… The post CFS / ME & Pain: The Silent War on an Internal Battlefield appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I just got some good news. Make that GREAT news. I can't even say what that news it at the moment (sworn to secrecy, but I'm DEFINITELY not pregnant or engaged or anything like that!!). Actually the news is not really about me, but I do get some great benefits from it. I'm just reflecting… The post Good News to Feed the Soul :-) – A Boost To My CFS / ME Spirits! appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I put a lot of focus on laughter in my life. It's such a deliciously free way to give yourself an endorphin boost. The beauty of laughter is we can all do it at any given moment in time. Why don't you laugh now just for fun? I'm serious. Stop reading, and just laugh. If… The post Laughter Is Great Medicine For CFS appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Is CFS your enemy or your ally? What a strange question, you may say, but whether we view our health issues as our ally or something to fight against makes a huge difference. For a long time I saw my illness as the enemy – something to fight, to resist, to plot against and to… The post Is CFS / ME Your Enemy or Ally? It’s Your Choice appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Oh, the irony!! For over 20 years I have battled the invisible nature of CFS and wished that there was some visible sign of how sick I really was at times. But now, after shaving my head for the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave three weeks ago, suddenly people ARE looking at me as if… The post But You Don’t Look Sick … Oh, Now You Do!! The Ironies of CFS / ME appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

(For some time I have been resisting focussing this blog specifically on people living with CFS/ME/CFIDS. But when I resist something it's usually a sign I should be doing it ;-), and this is no exception. So I have decided to now focus on writing blogs for people living with CFS because that is what… The post A New Focus: The CFS Blog appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

We are all great. We are all amazing. We are all special. But most of us don't think of ourselves that way. Most of us doubt our attributes, play down our skills and choose to believe in a not-so-great, not-so-amazing picture of ourselves that we then spend a lot of time trying to prove is… The post Step Into Your Greatness appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

(On Friday March 15th I shaved my head for charity. Here is what I wrote on that day about that experience) Over the years I've sometimes uttered the words “I wonder what I'd look like with no hair”. Today my curiosity was satisfied. And the answer is “not as bad as I thought I might”.… The post My World’s Greatest Shave 2013 – On Having No Hair! appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

(Please scroll to the bottom of this post to download or listen to this blog as an audio/mp3) My whole philosophy around living powerfully with CFS and other chronic illness is based around regaining a sense of purpose in our lives. It's when I felt I'd lost my sense of purpose that I struggled most… The post Finding Your Purpose While Living With CFS / ME appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

In a few days time I'm going to find out just how much physical image means to me. Why? Because I'll have no hair left. I am taking part in the World's Greatest Shave – a fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation – and on Friday 15th March I will be shaving my head to raise… The post Physical Image: How important is it? – World’s Greatest Shave 2013 appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

As I promised recently I have decided to blog occasionally about ways people living with CFS can potentially earn money online with the little energy they have. So here is the first blog in that vein about affiliate marketing. Up until recently I didn't really know much about affiliate marketing. I am still no expert,… The post Making Money Lying Down – CFS & Passive Income #1: Affiliate Marketing with iherb appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

One of the things that can be most disempowering for people living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other chronic illnesses is the lack of an income – or a significant reduction in income – due their health condition. I certainly know it has been for me. Not only does our potential to earn an income… The post Passive Income & CFS / ME – Can You Have Both? appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

(What follows started as a journal entry last night when I was really feeling the burden of my electrosensitivity pain. It turned into a blog because I want to show other people living with chronic pain that I struggle with this chronic pain life as much as anyone else, but I also step through that… The post The Dilemma of Pain – An Unusual Choice appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I'm sure you've heard that expression “Don't sweat the small stuff”. There's even a book Don't Sweat The Small Stuff by that name. It is a great message, but like many things, it seems so simple in theory, but the practice of it is another story. Today I've been reflecting on how a lot of… The post Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff (While Managing CFS) appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I am not a victim of CFS. In the early days I was, but for some time now I have relinquished my victim status. I refuse to be a victim of anything in life, especially an illness. I feel very passionately about refusing to be a victim of my life circumstances. It might appear to… The post Refuse To Be A Victim of CFS / ME appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

There is so much information on the net about how to manage pain, but I can really only speak from my own experience with any authority. In time, I plan to examine the current psychological literature and do an easily-digestible review of this, but for now I thought I would talk a bit about how… The post My Top 5 Pain Management Strategies … and a Bonus One! appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I'm sure you all have days like I've had today. Those days when it all just seems too hard. The pain, the fatigue, the digestive and bowel problems (yep, those bits nobody wants to hear about!). It all just seems never-ending at times, and sometimes even makes you want to give up completely. Luckily today… The post When It All Seems Too Hard – The Tough Days of CFS / ME & Electrosensitivity Pain appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Be gentle with yourself. Chronic illness and pain wears you out mentally, physically and spiritually. Nurture yourself through the pain, fatigue, nausea, loneliness and sadness. The ongoing constant nature of a chronic condition takes its toll on even the most positive and optimistic of us. So sometimes we just have to ease up on ourselves… The post Nurture Yourself Through Illness & Pain appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Recently I published the first part of this post on using Distraction to help manage pain and illness. Here's Part 2, with my favourite 5 types of distraction that I use the most. 1. Music Music can take us in all directions and bring forward all emotions. It can be uplifting (usually my choice) or… The post The Power Of Distraction – Part 2 – 5 Ways To Distract Yourself from Pain & Illness appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I love podcasts. They have been one of the greatest additions to my life as a result of the world wide web. They have particularly made a massive difference to me because of my severe headaches due to electrosensitivity. Listening to or watching long audio/video programs on a computer is not comfortable for me (ie. It causes a lot… The post The Joy of Podcasts (to Help Manage CFS & Pain) appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

What fills your bucket? What brings you joy? What enlivens and nourishes your spirit? CFS has a nasty habit of draining our bucket, our spirit, our joie de vivre. But we can fight back. We can seek and identify the things in life that fill our bucket, and in doing so we can maintain and… The post Fill Your Bucket to Help Combat CFS / ME appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

When our body doesn't work properly but our mind does, it can be a lethal mix. One of the traps of living with chronic illness and pain is we don't have the same physical outlets as others, so we can tend to “get stuck in our head”. Thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and information all crowd our… The post The Power of Distraction in Managing CFS / ME & Pain – Part 1 appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

(Please scroll to the bottom of this post to download or listen to the audio/mp3 version of this blog) In a number of my blogs you will have heard me refer to the electrosensitivity I live with. For some time I have been meaning to write a blog explaining my experience with electrosensitivity, but because… The post ‘Allergic’ to Electricity – My Story with Electrosensitivity appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

When you are managing pain and illness in your life there often seems to be constant withdrawals from your reserves of spirit. I often use the analogy of a bucket of water. Dealing with pain and illness depletes the level in my bucket, so I'm always looking for things that fill my bucket; that boost… The post Enriching Relationships Fill Your Bucket When Managing CFS / ME & Other Pain/Illness appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Summer heat! Unlike many people I love these 40 degree days. For some reason my body always functions better in the heat. I'd love to know why that is, but in the absence of any simple answers I'll just take it as the gift it is. So this evening I've spent most of my time… The post Declutter Your House, Declutter Your Mind – It Helps Manage CFS & Pain appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

One of the major things I do to manage pain is restructure the context around how I view pain and its constraints. In 2006 I did some training and development courses at Landmark Education, a worldwide organisation that runs particularly good programs. At that point in my life I was very constrained by my health.… The post Change The Context, Change The Experience of CFS & Pain appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Sometimes it really feels like we're all alone in the world, doesn't it? When managing a life with illness and pain it can feel even more like we're on our own. Facing the whole prospect of aloneness is something I've been dealing with a lot lately. I have a strong belief in the old saying… The post Alone, lonely, isolated? It Can Be When Living With CFS / ME & Other Spoonie Illnesses appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

There was nowhere to go. Nowhere I could go to escape myself, my illness, my pain. I was trapped like a dragonfly in amber. Inside my failure of a body I carried one of nature's miracles – the innocent cause of my body's latest breakdown. My baby daughter, unknowingly, innocently depleting me of vital nutrients… The post Trapped In My Body – CFS, Pregnancy & Electrosensitivity appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Perfectionism is the perfect excuse not to do anything in life. Perfectionism is often the equivalent of procrastination, or at the very least, being a perfectionist usually leads to a great deal of procrastination – “If I can't do it perfectly/properly I won't do it at all!” is a common cry for us perfectionists/procrastinators. Perfectionism… The post The Curse of Perfectionism in Managing CFS / ME & Other Chronic Illness appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

I love this time of year. I have always loved the Christmas season and summer, and luckily in Australia they coincide. I also have my birthday between Christmas and New Year, so that has always made it an extra special time of year. Now I am a 40 year old Mum you may think a… The post The Season To Be Jolly appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

One of my heroes passed away today. He wasn't an actor. He wasn't a singer. He wasn't a world leader. He was an author – an incredible story-teller in written form and in person. I first heard Bryce Courtenay speak back in 1993 when I was 21 and had never read any of his books.… The post Heroes Among Men appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.

Welcome! I set up this blog some time ago with the aim of writing articles relevant to my work as a life coach for people living with illness & pain. As it's turned out my own experience with illness and pain has been part of the reason for the delay in posting regular blogs. My… The post Hello world! appeared first on The Get Up And Go Guru.