I have had CFS since my mid-teens (moderate, mild), it got better in my late teens, twenties, and thirties (mild to mild mild), and then got a lot worse in my late thirties following a long period with pneumonia (severe, moderate, mild in periods).
Some years ago, during the period with stronger CFS, I had severe sleep problems. It was as if my system was unable to feel sleepy. I was exhausted, but never sleepy.
These days, I notice a lot more sleepiness. I am often overtaken with sleepiness throughout the day, and sleep whenever I can.
A part of me is slightly frustrated with this. And yet, I also know that it’s a blessing. It is, in a sense, a big step forward. It’s a huge improvement to being utterly exhausted and unable to feel sleepy.
For the last few years, since the CFS retreat in Norway, I have also learned to stabilize better. I have been more able to avoid crashes, although they still happen occasionally.
What has helped? Pacing has been a huge part of it. I also seemed to benefit greatly from herbal medicine. (Siberian ginseng for deeper energy, echinacea for the immune system, ginger for the digestion.) Breema helped me greatly. Qigong helps me. And Vortex Healing has been a (literal) God-send for me. It helps me with “emergency” energization in daily life, and it has helped my system and organs start the recovery.
There is still much further to go. I am still often unable to do much apart from the minimum daily life activities. But my system is more stable, I have a way to energize my system (VH), and I am sleepy rather than just exhausted, and that’s a big improvement.
My system is often able to quickly go into deep sleep, which is part of that blessing.