Your support has changed my life
When I started at Vitality360 I was very low and was angry/unaccepting of my condition (CFS). I was off sick from work (part-time) a lot. I was in bed when not at work and missing out on time with my children. I was unable to contribute to household work.
During my rehabilitation programme, I have learnt different strategies, have an evidence base for the effectiveness of those strategies, have learnt to identify triggers more easily and have gained confidence and belief that I know how to (and can) manage my condition. I have noticed a significant difference from when I started with the service. I'm now able to keep my energy levels up and/or can manage them better so I can better focus on/attend to the things that are important to me.
Three things that have changed the most since working with Vitality360:
Self-belief/self-efficacy achieved through learning to accept my condition and relieve my feelings of guilt towards my family and children.
More energy freed up to engage with children by managing my energy levels better - my Clinician worked at my pace, understood what was most important to me, was encouraging and kept me on track with implementing new strategies.
Mood improvement - happier and more accepting of my condition as its negative impact has been reduced.
The three things that Vitality360 has done during the programme that have helped me the most:
1. Review of daily schedule in detail and practical tips/strategies for avoiding overload.
By having a detailed look at my daily schedule and providing practical tips/strategies on how to work in breaks/quiet times/naps/stretches etc. this has helped me manage my schedule without collapsing, getting sick and/or getting irritable. Weekends were looked at too and slowly strategies built in so I could have better quality time with my children (even if I did need to nap in between) and changes made so that I could contribute something to the household work.
2. Focus beyond the workplace to managing my energy with my children and household contributions.
We implemented strategies so I could have better quality time with my children and contribute something to the household work. My Clinician had great tips, including how to explain CFS to my young children, that I would never have thought of.
3. Encouragement and monitoring of implementation of strategies/progress to support me to commit to changes.
I took my Clinicians’ advice on board and tried to stick to new routines (challenging at the start and I lapsed back into bad habits a few times!) and it made such a difference in my self-belief.
I honestly can't think of anything that could have been better. The support I received was helpful in so many ways.
I'm now able to manage work better (I'm off sick less and feel I'm achieving something) and, most importantly to me, the time I spend with my children is much better quality. I'm so much more confident about being able to manage my condition in a positive way that limits its impact on my emotional wellbeing, my work and my family.
“I can't thank Vitality360 enough ... your support has changed my life.”