I have to say that I am really noticing this is work, I am operating at a much slower pace, everything is more of an effort.

This is little wonder though as a month ago I fatigued and struggled to listen to two people talking at once, and was fatigued when concentrating when reading.

Whilst two months ago I was in a world of headaches, noise and light sensitivity and constant fatigue.

Now I am trying to do more high level things with actual consequences it is far more mentally taxing and tiring. I have to give myself space.

Whatever stage you are at you must give yourself the time and space to do tasks, and be kind to yourself!

I for one believe this is very real. I often find myself struggling for motivation. It would be all too easy to dismiss this as simple laziness, except that by nature I tend to be a Type A over-achiever (or at least try to). I got excellent grades in school, have a black belt in karate, and started and run my own business.

The accident changed me. I must frequently overcome strong inertia to get anything done. I have a theory that this phenomenon is a basic stage of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The emotions get worked on before the physical body does. CFS is the immune system ordering the body to cease activity. This is a good thing when the body is ill, in that it mandates rest. It is a bad thing when it happens all the time.

If you blow past the emotional signals through discipline, the I.S. responds with more physical signals to slow down, e.g. pain, fatigue, headaches. These are harder to dismiss. But you get the idea. The important thing to realize is that this is not your fault. It's a brain thing.

You're definitely not alone!

For the remembering part, I rely heavily on my iPhone calendar for reminding me to do things and when. Everything from taking my pills, to feeding the dogs, to appointments, even scheduling my laundry.

I find it also helps with motivation. I'm careful with scheduling to make sure there's not too much to do all at once and not too much in a day, if possible. But if the phone says to do it, I try to go do it, otherwise I know things will pile up and get unmanageable and overwhelming.

If I'm having a really rough day, things are easy to reschedule to the next day or whenever is appropriate.

I also keep all sorts of notes in my phone, people's names, addresses, how much cash I withdrew and where I put it, everything. I'd be lost without my phone.

The other thing that helps me with motivation is right after a nap or when I first wake up in the morning is to do a few things, even just a couple little things... if I know I have a harder (for me) task, that's when I plan to do it... like if I had paperwork to do, that's when I'd schedule it, that's when I'd have the best luck of getting it right the first time. I find by planning to do things like that when I'm at my best, its easier to motivate myself to do them.

Starr