CCI Support Blog
The CCI Support Blog is a look at life with Chronic Illnesses written in an informal or conversational style. If you would like to contribute to this blog, please contact your Health and Wellness Facilitator.
Through the Grapevine – October 2025
As some of you may remember from previous blogs etc. Rachel Riggs’ cookbook is shaping up to be an uncomplicated, allergen-aware cookbook. After a recent catch up, Rachel who has been living with ME/CFS for 21 years -- the last twelve of them housebound -- really...
“The Trying Place” – A Poem by Phil
You’re trying. Of course you are. That’s what you’ve always done. Trying to feel better. Trying to be present. Trying to do it right. Trying not to try too hard. (That one’s tricky.) You carry so much hope in your effort. But maybe it’s time to rest the effort, too....
October is Dysautonomia Awareness Month
Mindfulness Matters
By Tania Recently I’ve been taking a deep dive into mindfulness. Mindfulness can mean different things for different people, but for me it means tuning into what my body is telling me and pausing more often to notice what is going on around me. Interestingly, I am...
Severe ME/CFS – Writing by Raquel E. Parackal
ME/CFS is the merciless unravelling of your humanity — where even the simplest acts, like speaking, sitting up, or thinking, become impossible mountains to climb. In its severe form, it traps you in darkened rooms, silences your voice, and steals the very sensations...
AGM 2025
AGM ONLINE - Saturday 13th September 2025 at 10.30amDocuments for the AGM are available belowThe changes to the constitution include changing the words Executive Committee back to Board.Proxies If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may appoint a proxy to attend...
Mindful Keys to Living with Chronic Fatigue: From Overwhelm to Inner Steadiness
To live mindfully with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not to push or strive—it’s to soften. It’s about learning to meet yourself, again and again, in the truth of each moment—with gentleness, presence, and deep respect for your body’s limits. Pause Gently. Often Create...
”Meeting Fear” A Poem by Phil
The fear came—that’s what fear does sometimes.It arrived like weather—uninvited, real. It wasn’t mine to control.But how I met it—that was mine. So I paused. Yes, I flinched at first.Old habits stirred.But then I remembered—I could choose to stay. I didn’t need the...
In Loving Memory of Linda Derrick
It was with great sadness to learn of the passing of Linda on 2nd July 2025. Linda has been a member of CCI Support since the Waikato region was amalgamated with the organisation in April 2021. Prior to that she was an active member of the ME/CFS & FM community in...
Everything I learned I learned from books Some of you may know, because I harp on about it constantly, that I’m a big fan of science fiction author Becky Chambers. In particular, A Psalm for the Wild-Built holds a special place in my heart, because it helped me...
