LONELINESS

Bonjour, 

This blog is another in the series about all the emotions that we go through living with M.E. 

The one comment that I see most often on social media is 'I feel so alone'. 

Being alone and loneliness is forced upon us as we can no longer work, socialise, or leave our homes or even our beds.   

Here are some of the comments that people have written about how they feel. Perhaps you can identify with any or all of them....

• the worst thing about M.E. is feeling so lonely
• M.E. has got to be the loneliest illness in the world 
• I feel so lonely and desperate
• I feel ignored
• I feel lonely and afraid
• I feel lonely and depressed
• I miss talking to people
• I fear being left alone
• people don't understand how lonely this illness can be
• I feel sad, sick and tired of being alone
• living alone means every day is a struggle
• alone at Christmas 
• inhuman loneliness
• I'm a really sociable person and miss seeing people
• I miss 'real' friends to hug
• loneliness is the worst of all tortures
• being lonely is a killer
• I feel like no one in my life understands what life is like having this illness
• lonely is not being alone, it's the feeling that no one cares

Of course some people love being alone. It's true that being alone can have it's benefits. It's also true that you can feel lonely even when you are living with someone or you are surrounded by people. 

I have been in both situations - lonely in a relationship and now as a single person. 

So how can we cope with loneliness? 

We all have our own ways of facing and dealing with this. 

Unlike healthy and well people we can't go out and join a local class or group, volunteer or go out and socialise.  

We have to find other ways to combat loneliness. 

What helps me is connecting with people, especially those who suffer the same as me, on social media websites. It helps me to feel less alone. 

I have a few good friends but talking to them depends on how I feel. 

I also have a cat who helps and comforts me. 

It also helps me to write down how I feel and sometimes share that with others. 

What helps you to cope with loneliness?  

I look forward to hearing from you.  

Love and hugs to you all 
The French Femme 
xxx💓

KLARA WILSON

Bonjour, 

I'm writing this blog with a sad heart and many tears. I've lost a friend and an M.E. warrior to the illness M.E. and cancer. 

Some people don't believe that you can have 'real' friends on Facebook.
Klara Wilson was just one of those friends and although I never met her we helped and supported each other. She was part of the M.E. community. Our friendship started back in 2013. So I feel her loss very deeply. 

Klara was a very kind and supportive friend. Others describe her as a brave fighter, with unbelievable spirit, an amazing person, positive, humorous, witty,  an inspiration, so much energy and enthusiasm, passionate about politics and human rights.

Mike Harley interviewed Klara about M.E. in her native Czech Republic six months ago.  He met her sister and mother the day before he ran the Prague marathon in May 2015.     

But above all she has left a great legacy in terms of ME and ME/CFS awareness images she created as part of ME Awareness pics 
She has taught so many with her awareness raising and will continue to do so.  

It's never easy to raise awareness when feeling so ill. It takes a lot of effort and sacrifice to one's health. Klara despite having severe ME contributed a lot to raising awareness. 

When I first decided to put my poems about M.E. into a book I didn't know where to start. Klara and her husband Rob both helped me in those  early days and designed a cover for my book 'My A-Z of M.E.'  

and to illustrate my poem 

I will be forever grateful for the help both Klara and Rob gave me.  

I hope on reading my blog you will share some of these images. 

We need to continue to raise awareness and understanding. 

I don't want more of my dear friends to disappear because of this cruel illness. 

A bientot
The French Femme 
xxx