Healing from ME: the importance of commitment to the healing process

I was just sitting at my laptop with a view of my garden and the hills beyond, when I received this email from someone who has just started the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME Breakthrough programme with me:

“It was great to meet you on Friday. I think that I can safely say that you met a William (name changed) that no one else has ever met. I couldn’t believe what an effect this has had on me, and how calm and confident I felt on Friday morning. Right from the first contact with you this has felt so special and natural, and I have never had even one little thought of negativity surrounding the whole thing , which in itself is quite miraculous . As I can usually put a negative spin on even the most positive situations. “

Obviously, this is a great email to receive on a Monday morning. But it also got me thinking…..about how committing to a process is so important. It reminded me of a quotation from Goethe which is worth quoting in full for its relevance to this topic and its inspiration:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

So, how can making the commitment to the programme and having one healing session with me have such a profound effect?

Well, I believe that when people have been ill for a while with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME, they can get stuck in a negative spiral, believing that they will never get better, believing that nobody can help them, believing that there’s no point in “fighting “ the condition any more. And this is completely unsurprising – after years, sometimes a decade or more, of being exhausted all the time, and suffering from other debilitating and confusing symptoms, it does seem “normal” that people would conclude there is no way out for them – and I’ve been there too, and I know this was often my experience.

And yet, after twenty years of suffering from ME, William has decided to commit himself to the healing process that my programme offers. Somehow, reading my story and seeing what was possible for me gave him a vision of what was possible for him if he committed to working with me. As a result of committing, as Goethe says, forces in the universe begin to work with us. And William has already reversed his natural (and understandable) negativity, believing now that he can heal himself, and feeling a new-found confidence in himself.

And I know from personal experience how self confidence can be eroded by months and years of not being able to do much, being afraid of getting tired when you go out, afraid of overdoing it in case you suffer the consequences for weeks or even months afterwards.

And I believe that that positivity experienced by William, and that confidence will propel him into his healing journey with me on the ME Breakthrough programme over the next 2 months.