Canberra Region
Wed, 03/10/2007 - 4:58pm — Abbey
This thread is to provide another way to link people up within the ACT/Canberra region.
From the ACT page, http://www.mecfscanberra.org.au/
"We provide support, information and advocacy for people affected by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and/or Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) in the Canberra region.
The ACT ME/CFS Society provides support services, such as monthly support group meetings and a self help course. We provide information about ME/CFS/FMS and related illnesses to members, medical practitioners and the public. We also raise funds for research into ME/CFS and hold events to raise awareness in the ACT region."
I'll let Mary, the ACT president, give you more details 
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ACT Self Help Course
ACT ME/CFS and FMS Self Help Course
Self Help Course helping people with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)/ CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and (FMS) Fibromyalgia better understand the illnesses and manage their health more effectively.
The next Self Help Course is scheduled to begin Monday 30 March 2009. It will be held at the Pearce Community Centre and will run for eight weeks on each Monday from 1.00 – 3.00 pm (eight sessions of two hours). Fees apply. Bookings Essential.
For more information on the course click here
To register, please contact SHOUT on 6290-1984 or email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Public Information Seminar
The ACT ME/CFS Society presents a FREE seminar with Dr Nicole Phillips, ME/CFS Specialist and editor of the Emerge medical pages
1.30pm–4.00pm
Saturday 2 May 2009
Pilgrim House Conference Center
Corner of Rudd St and Northbrone Ave. Free underground parking is available from Rudd St.
Dr Phillips will speak on a wide range of topics including interacting with doctors, friends and work mates grief, loss and why ME/CFS is not a mental illness and information from the April World Conference
All are welcome
www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Seminar
Hi all,
this sounds great ....if you go to their link they have a flyer where is mentions one for doctors as well ..... I downloaded this and printed off a couple of copies and took to my GP one for him and one to put up for the other drs in medical centre.....as this seminar will have the latest news from the states ...the more Drs that know of it the better.....I think it would be a good way to spread the word if everyone was to do the same........
Diane
How a movie made a difference
Mary’s Story
Bad reaction
After having so many bad responses I find it difficult to tell new friends or people I meet that I have ME/CFS, mostly because I fear their reaction. I’d been living with my housemate James for a while and we had become friends. Since he often saw me sleeping or looking unwell or in pain, one morning I decided to explain that I had ME/CFS. His immediate reaction was disbelief. “That’s not real, it doesn’t exist. People who say they have that are just faking it.” I argued with him and tried to explain the research, but he had already made up his mind. All James said was: I was wrong, and “people who have ME/CFS are lazy and just want attention”. I felt about two centimetres tall. I was shattered that he could think so little of me.
Moving on
After then I found it hard to live in the same house as James. Although I believe he is a good person and on most points we are good friends, I found it hard to be friends with a housemate who so forcefully believed the fatigue, pain and other symptoms I lived through in my daily life was imaginary. A few months later I moved out. This time, when I went to check out houses to live in, I told potential housemates up front I had ME/CFS. Luckily, I moved in with a housemate who is very understanding and showed me that there are people out there with open minds. She has even helped with volunteering with the ME/CFS Society. I still kept in touch with my old housemate, James, as a friend, but for me, it wasn’t the same since I knew what he really thought.
Movie Screening
I invited all my friends to see ‘I Remember Me’ when the ACT ME/CFS Society screened it at Dendy Cinemas last year. I was blessed that many friends came to support me. I called up James specifically and explained it meant a lot to me if he would come. It would take maybe two hours of his time, and all he would have to do is watch a movie. He agreed. In the movie, friends have told me James was sitting on the edge of his seat. He took a while at the end to leave because he was shocked at the seriousness and how ME/CFS can impact people’s lives. James was apparently moved.
Later
Months later James invited me out to dinner. I told him I wasn’t well, and he invited me to his place and said he’d cook and I could just relax. When I arrived, I stood chatting for about a minute, then I started to feel dizzy. Without me asking, James immediately fetched me a chair to sit on, and made me a cup of tea. He cooked dinner with ‘lots of vegetables to help me get better’ and encouraged me to rest and recover. I’m glad I didn’t write James off, even though I was so hurt with his reaction when I first told him. I know a movie won’t have this kind of impact on everyone, but in my case, he is not the only friend who came to the movie, and who is now very supportive. For the next screening I intend to invite my friends who were out of town last time and couldn’t make it.
You can download the press kit from http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/films/irememberme/presskit.pdf
You can buy the DVD 'I remember me' online from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/I-Remember-Me-Michelle-Akers/dp/B00020X942
Facebook cause
The ACT ME/CFS Society now has a facebook cause. Through facebook help us raise awareness and raise funds to help people with ME/CFS and FMS. Join our cause and click here
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/172027?m=7bf7bab2
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Canberra Fundraising Cinema Event
ME CFS Fundraising Cinema Event
You, your family and friends are invited to the ACT ME/CFS Society’s Fundraising Cinema Event
Pre-screening canapés and drinks will kick-start a matinee screening of ‘I Remember Me’ an award-winning documentary about ME/CFS.
Where: Dendy Cinemas, Canberra Centre, Civic
When: Sunday November 18th 2007
Time: 2pm
Cost: $25 per person at the door
Theme: Whether it’s a ribbon in your hair, a shirt, or a dress wear a touch of blue and show support for ME/CFS
Tickets are limited. RSVP to the SHOUT office on 02) 6290 1984 or email admin@mecfscanberra.edu.au
Proceeds will go towards ME/CFS research and the ACT ME/CFS Society.
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Woden Plaza Canberra
Tomorrow 24 May 08 we will have a stall at Woden Plaza in Canberra. For those people in the Canberra region, feel free to drop by and say 'Hi'. We hope to do some fundraising and promote awareness and it should be a good day.
Mary
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Self Help Course - Take Control of Your Illness
Hi Everyone
We are running a self help course in Canberra, designed to give people with ME/CFS and/or FMS a better understand the illnesses and to manage their health more effectively. People living NSW and other states are very welcome to attend. The Self-Help Course is an eight week program, with a two hour session per week.
Learn how to:
· pace yourself to control the "chronic illness roller coaster"
· set realistic short-term goals
· reduce stress
· manage emotions
· improve relationships
· minimize relapses
· develop your own self-management program
When: Monday September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and Monday October 13, 20, 27, 2008
Time: 10.30 am- 12.30 pm
Venue: Pearce Community Centre, Pearce, Canberra
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL
Fees apply. See below for details. To register or for more information, please contact SHOUT on 6290-1984 or admin@mecfscanberra.org.au.
For more details about the course go to
http://www.mecfscanberra.org.au/actmecfs/act_cfs_selfhelp.htm
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Mindfulness & Meditation - Canberra region support group
Mindfulness and meditation can help you to keep a calm mind, reduce stress, ability to have a clearer focus on life
Having the awareness that our thoughts, behaviours and speech have a direct effect on our current health, both positive and negitive.
November the 16th there will be a session on Mindfulness and Meditation. The facilitator will be a nun from the Tibetan Buddhist Society of Canberra. It will start at 11am-1pm and lunch will be provided and members are very welcomed to bring a friend, the location will be SHOUT in the large meeting room.
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Canberra Self Help Course
The ACT ME/CFS Society runs a course that is designed to help you better understand the illnesses and gives you the strategies to manage your health more effectively. Fees apply.
For more information or to register, please contact SHOUT on 6290-1984 or admin@mecfscanberra.org.au.
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984
Welcome
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the ACT thread. I think this forum is a wonderful way for people with ME/CFS & FMS to connect, support each other and share ideas. On behalf of the ACT Society, thank you NSW for providing this space. We look forward to working together with the NSW Society in the future.
For those with ME/CFS & FMS in the Canberra region you are welcome to attend our support groups and events. We often have a few attendees from regional NSW so feel free to check out our website or contact us for more information.
Thank you Abbey for setting this up
Mary Campbell
President
ACT ME/CFS & FMS Society
Website www.mecfscanberra.org.au
Email admin@mecfscanberra.org.au
Phone 02 6290 1984