The benefits of social media and living with CFIDS/FMS

I just sat down with my hot cup of PG tips tea and snuck a peek out my window.  The view tonight is  incredibly beautiful.  I have always been drawn to the city lights at night.  There is something majestic about the quietness of the hour and the brilliance of all those lights.  It’s as if, even in the darkest of  hours, we are letting the cosmos know we are still here and thriving.  I like that.

There was a period not too long ago that I was overwhelmed with depression that was a result of being so isolated.  To be honest, that isn’t something I normally struggle with because I tend to like to be by myself.  I don’t really get lonely.  But when I got sick and friends started dropping off by the wayside, or I started having to say no more often than not, I started to notice that being isolated was really difficult.

Relationships are so critical to us thriving as human beings and so when you suddenly don’t have them, or your friends and family go on with their lives and you are still stuck here, alone, that tends to wear on you.

I have been fortunate because I am blessed with some really great friends and most of my friends don’t mind coming to hang out with me here.  Actually, I think they prefer it!    But be that as it may, I still spend a huge majority of my time within my 4 walls and a view, alone.

Sometimes, the absence of noise re-iterates just how alone I am.  Other times, the lack of interaction with others causes me to withdraw into myself even more than I normally would.  Thus, getting back out into the world is that much harder.

After reading my friend, Larry’s recent post on social media,  I realized that in addition to my great friends, social media has been an incredible gift for me.  While I may spend days and weeks without going anywhere – other than taking the dogs out twice a day or checking the mail – social media has afforded me the opportunity to reach out and literally touch someone.  Even better, it has afforded them the ability to reach out and touch me.

A great example of this was an invite I recently received to join a ning community.  In all honesty, ning communities haven’t really worked out for me in the past and I have been involved with several different types.  However, I am always up to meeting new people so I thought I would check this one out.  What I saw was immediately attractive and I joined pretty quickly.  My first gut reaction proved to be true, because every single person I have ‘met’ there in the past few days has been amazing.

Living Whole with Chronic Pain is a God send for people like me who are limited in their ability to get out.  I have received dozens of welcome messages from people who are looking to connect just like I am.  I have been offered words of encouragement, words of praise, thank you, Welcome notes and even had song lyrics sent to me!

It might seem silly to someone who is able to connect in the conventional way, but it is a life line for me everyday.

Another example is Facebook.  A good portion of my church and family are on Facebook!  I am able to keep in touch with my daughter and sister as much or as little as I am up to.  In addition, even when I am unable to get to church, I can visit my pastors at Facebook as well as many of my church friends.  It has been indispensable to me.

One of my favorite social media is Twitter.  I am a Twitter addict!  One of the things I love about Twitter is that you are forced to respond in 140 characters.  Anyone who knows me, knows I can be quite wordy!  As a result, I have had to learn to trim my comments down to fit within the 140 characters.  I love challenges so I usually find this fun!

In addition, the ability to get information is amazing.  In a matter of minutes I can scan 20 Tweets and see which articles/posts I want to read.  And then when I am done, I re-tweet it so someone else can decide if they want to read it.  Love that!  I guess I have mastered it pretty well because my followers now number around 1460!  Which brings me to another reason I like Twitter.  I get to interact with different people at any given time because not all of my 1400+ followers are on at once.  I love that diversity.

Another amazing aspect of Twitter is its ability to allow you to be part of something huge that is happening.  For instance, the Senate race in Massachusetts on Tuesday.  I was part of it on Twitter.  You could feel the excitement and the anticipation while everyone was madly sending Tweets into oblivion!  It was fabulous!

Being physically in Massachusetts for the final leg of the race was probably not a reality for most Americans, but many of us got to be part of that historical moment by being on Twitter!  Now that is just way cool.

While some may feel that social media has its negatives, for me it has mainly been a positive.  Without the ability to connect to others, life within my 4Walls and A View would become quite challenging.  I am thankful for the many advancements in social media that now connect us all together.  For me, the benefits of social media on me, someone who is living with CFIDS/FMS, has been profoundly positive.

What social media do you use?

Determined to continue forward,