Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Support Group

Does gentle classical music bother you? I find I can listen to that. I also look at gardening books because I think they're pretty and it takes no cognitive skills. Am also a huge fan of baths.

Hmm maybe crocheting or knitting if you do either of those. Both can be done slowly and you can rest in between and do simple patterns.

Have you tried audio books? Might be a compromise if you find people reading whose voices don't bother your CFS. I know most libraries have them now and some classics are free here at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main... . Also if you can afford it Audible.com is pretty nice.

Yes, audiobooks! I love them, I'm just starting to read books again after a long time of not being able to, but I still love to listen to audiobooks in bed, it can be a bit of trial and error finding books with readers you can tolerate. Um, are there any crafty type things you like? I wouldn't recommend painting by numbers, I thought that'd be nice, and 5 minutes knocked me out for 2 days...! Really quite cognitive...
Any type of card making, scrapbooking, drawing- even just doing some mindless scribbles and seeing what you can "find" within them is good for when you're just not up to it. I used to like holiday daydreaming, or nice activities I'd like to be doing. What about something like bead bracelets? Ones with larger beads, so they're easier to thread etc.
Also like going through photo albums, can do it lying down, and it's nice to go through pictures that remind you of good times... Think that's all I can think of right now, I'm lucky that at the moment I can watch tv relatively easily if i rest properly... x

Sometimes I take a bath and relax before bed. I look at magazines and dont read them just browse through them. At times I turn CNN on at a low level and close my eyes and just listen to the news. I drink some hot tea, and take melatonin and turn on light, soothing music.

I can usually watch things on TV, but I usually have to choose shows over movies, and when I'm doing badly, I choose shorter shows over longer ones. I know that this doesn't help if you're not able to watch anything at all, but the idea of taking an activity you enjoy and finding a "mini-version" maybe might help.

Also, just a thought, sometimes watching things on my computer helps because of the smaller screen.

I take a bath and listen to relaxing CDs (I use Yoga Nidra relaxation and visualisation techniques as they help me switch off). Both of these are helping my sleep. Sometimes I just lie in my bedroom with a candle on and let my thoughtsdrift around. This seems to help unwind too.