Thanks to Apple’s useless App Store organization, finding great iPhone or iPod apps is a word-of-mouth, hit-or-miss proposition. Most of my purchases are free or very low-cost games, but sometimes I pick up great apps in other categories as well. And then sometimes I find they have special benefits, sometimes not so obvious ones, for people with CFS and similar illnesses. I’m going to discuss three such apps that I recommend. None of them are specifically health-related; rather, they are of use in three areas where we nerfed types also need particular help: relaxation, communication, and organization.
Time to introduce the other girls on that banner up there.
You may adore her now.
This is Satori. She is a 10-year-old sable Burmese. Outwardly, a freaky little string cheese addict, but a total love bug at heart. She spooks like a little wuss yet easily maintains alpha cat status. If you catch her playing, she will immediately stop and deny it ever happened. She’ll gnaw your arm off to get at dinner, then further disarm you by rolling over and begging for belly rubs. Nicknames include: Tori, Tor-Tor, Satorio, Nancy Reagan.
The original keyboard cat
And this is Zen. She’s a five-year-old champagne Burmese and her personality is classic: part dog, part monkey, adventuress and supervisor of all household projects. Zen truly has no fear except for being looked at the wrong way by the six-pound Satori. She shares her every last thought and emotion with us, vocally or otherwise, and even has her own Twitter account at @zenthecat. Her favorite games are fetch (see below, with hairband), the Shoulder Leap, and WoW. Nicknames include: Zenzenzen, Zennifer, Zentastic, and Shut The Hell Up Already.
No on Prop 8!
Burmese have cute bred into them. We call ours the lesbian kitties.
(more little videos with the cats and the husband can be found here)
Hope you enjoyed the introduction. Upcoming posts will include a review of three iPhone apps I recommend for CFSers, and thoughts on chronic illness and pseudoscience. Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see here.
Wii Fit is an exercise game in which you stand on a specially designed balance board and perform activities from four categories: Yoga, Strength Training, Balance Games, and Aerobics. As you play, you unlock new games and exercises as well as more options for the current ones. The game also keeps track of your weight goals and allows you to keep an exercise journal, including activities aside from Wii Fit.
There is a wealth of information about all the various aspects of Wii Fit, not to mentionopinionsgalore on its use as an exercise device or supplement. This review will focus on the details that I believe are of most interest to people with CFS and similar physical limitations.
The short version
While there is controversy about Wii Fit’s role in exercise routines, as someone with CFS I recommend it heartily. While it won’t remove the possibility of post-exertional malaise, the wide variety of activities makes it possible for a patient to enjoy a fun, diverting workout while precisely controlling its time and intensity, and design routines to help avoid the malaise. If a walk around the block isn’t going to work for you today, maybe you can still take five minutes to avoid a slew of soccer balls being kicked at your head. Prior knowledge of yoga and strength training, while not required, will improve your experience. As long as you can muster the ability to laugh at yourself and your poor little Mii when you crash and burn on that ski jump — because you recognize the exercise benefits you’re getting even when you fail — this game is an excellent addition to a CFS gamer’s library.
