These Audios, by Nicola and Samantha at the Queen’s Centre for Health, in the UK, have really helped me to focus on yet another area of my health that may be contributing to the Chronic Fatigue (CFS/ME). They have also become part of my relaxation toolkit. Find out how you can win your own copy.
I’m pretty aware that I lean towards a perfectionist personality – not a very cool thing to admit, but unfortunately the signs are there.
While my world seems to reward perfectionist attitudes it’s really not great to be one. It causes me a lot of stress, distress and feelings of not being good enough. Striving for perfection also tends to make me focus on future happiness rather than savoring the journey. Of course, it’s not something I consciously want to do, but somewhere along the line it has became a bit of a habit for me.
Being aware of this pattern is definitely half the battle, but well, the other half, I think, is the hardest – Changing!. Damn that word, I don’t mind changing where I hang out for leisure, but having to change myself seems like the hardest tasks in the world. But being a self-help book junkie I’ll take it in my stride and at least take a look at it.
So, the reason I bring up perfectionism is because Nicola and Samantha believe that this is a common trait amongst many CFS/ME sufferers, and that sufferers can overcome their illness by overcoming the self-limiting belief patterns that are associated with this perfectionist attitude. Yay for that!
It makes sense to me that perfectionist beliefs eventually put that much pressure on the body that it gives way. Before I became ill I was putting a lot of pressure on myself physically and emotionally. I was working really hard to be seen as an achiever and to gain approval from others around me in both my personal and work life. Chasing these aspirations was just plain unrealistic and they eventually took their toll.
Nicola and Samantha refer to three, most common, personality groups of the perfectionist – the Achiever, the Helper and the Approval Seeker. Unfortunately I think I tick all these boxes! Actually I think I know heaps of women who would tick at least one or two of these boxes each! Could this be part of the puzzle as to why the majority of CFS/ME sufferers are women?
The Free Me Audios include a meditation for each of these personality types – The Achiever, the Helper and the Approval Seeker as well as an Inner Child Meditation. The messages are specifically tailored, but each audio includes a relaxation stage at the beginning and encouraging affirmation to develop new, positive beliefs.
I’m working through using each of them as I think they all provide benefit for me. They definitely help me sleep! J If I lay down and put one on, I just drift right off! I’ve had to start listening to them sitting upright so that I actually go through the full meditation.
They are fantastic. They enable me to do something daily that is easy, relaxing, makes me feel good and helps to reprogram some not-so-helpful beliefs. I totally recommend them to anyone who wants to give this a go.
Don’t be afraid, it’s not like opening a can of worms, more like putting the right balm on to help an old wound heal.
Thanks a lot Nicola and Samantha – these are the sort of tools we really need to empower us individually to beat this debilitating illness.
Nicola and Samantha have both overcome CFS/ME and now work as therapists at the Queens’s Centre for Health combining Hypnotherapy, NLP and Counselling to help people with CFS/ME change self-limiting patterns and overcome this debilitating illness. Nicola and Samantha are also available for phone counselling for those who can’t get to their clinics in the UK.
Find out how you can Win your own Free Me Audios during the month of October.
Tags: Beliefs meditation Recovery Self-help
