Well said Raelan...I think it's easier to hide the constant barrage of symptoms, as people cannot be expected to understand, or they relate tiredness to their own experience of ' normal tiredness', and give inappropriate advice. Also it takes too much energy to try to explain. At least, choose carefully who to share the experience with...

Raelan Agle I find that it really depends how bad it is, sometimes I really can and sometimes I can’t. I also feel that cfs plays with your mind in a sort of special that I hadn’t experienced before in life. It feels as if your brain is wired towards negativity and the anxiety and depression can become deeper than it should be given the circumstances. I’ve come a long way in terms of both my physical symptoms and my mental state, with ways to go in both but I would become suicidal at times especially on my way to work, despite the fact that my symptoms and the actual working experience is less than optimal but not enough to illicit that response from a rational person. One thing I’ve come to understand about the condition is that the symptoms are real and impact your body, and treating your body can help, but I feel strongly that deep down in the mind there has been something that has been hurting for a long time that is longing for your attention. In fact, at one point this past summer I made massive bounds in my recovery in a very short time from reading the works of Dr. John Sarno, who understood the fact that many people with chronic pain conditions do not experience the pain from a physical condition but yet from repressed emotions. I believe that CFS is a very extreme version of a “mind body syndrome” in which both the mind and body need to be treated with care. But I feel strongly i have gotten to the point that I have, which includes running and lifting and playing golf multiple times per week would only be possible if I had discovered the fact that the brain was signaling my body these symptoms because it perceives almost everything as a constant threat. It’s sad to see people who have cfs that completely reject the “mind” part of this, and assume that challenging your symptoms will lead to poorer health. Whilst pushing yourself through worsening symptoms can be a trauma in it of itself and make you worse, the fact of the matter is that no one ever gets better from doing less. If you had laid in bed for the entire ten years, I’m sure you would not have recovered and neither would I have progressed to the point that I’m a functional human that just feels crappy and has “lead legs” a lot of the time. Just my two cents. Thanks for the content!

@@dfblake7 Well said Dorothy!! Every single word you wrote resonates. Every. Single. One.

@@6473n64m19 I really am on the same page with you on this. A big part of my healing was dealing with my mental state and I get the feeling that most people want to focus on the physical symptoms only. I think it can be a bit hard to accept that our minds have so much power and that by focusing the mental stuff it diminishes the validity or severity of our illness (it's not real - it's all in our head!). I also was impacted by one of Dr Sarno's books, which is what prompted me to include mental/emotional work as a part of my own recovery process. And I also definitely found that I was wired for negativity and depression a lot of the time while I was sick. Despite the differences in this illness, so many of us seem to be having quite similar experiences overall. I'm SO happy for you that you've made the progress that you have! That's really amazing. You seem to have great insight and I hope that you get all the way back to health soon. Thanks for sharing this part of your experience! It's helpful for many people to hear I'm sure 🙂

Raelan Agle thank you so much for the reply and thank you so much for the content! I, for a long time thought Sarnos theories were THE answer, but I’m discovering that lack of attention to the body as well can hinder recovery, I’m glad someone else though has incorporated that into their recovery, I feel that unfortunately it is a rarity

I'm so glad to hear that. And thanks for taking the time to share some feedback and a bit of your experience 💜

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Kathy (both the video and my book!) And THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to post the review, that really is just so helpful 🙌❤️

WOHOOO!!!!! I LOVE what you just wrote! Your attitude is one of a healer, that is for sure. I just love it. Love it, love it, love it. Thank you for sharing that and I obviously can relate to so much of what you went through. It was really an eye=opening moment for me actually making this video here. I recall my time at that job in Malaysia as being so stressful, so difficult, and just full of struggle. And it was. But when I was looking at all the pictures I had I looked so happy and energetic and healthy. I thought - how am I supposed to expect people to believe that I was sick when I look for happy and fine? But then I realized that this is something that many of us probably go through with invisible hard to understand illnesses. We look fine. Even though we're not at all. Anyways - I'm so thrilled to hear about your new approach to life! YOU CALL THE SHOTS!!! 💪

Raelan 🥰🙏🏻💜

Hey Jade, thanks for taking the time to let me know that my channel has been helpful in some way. I appreciate it! And I can only imagine the energy demands that come with being a physiotherapist. For me, it really was just too hard to find the energy to devote to healing while trying to work. But we are all different and I'm wishing you all the best with your own health journey 💛

💓💓💓

Not empty words Danielle - you can do this!!! ❤️

Hey Bianca! This is amazing!! I'm so happy for you. Isn't it crazy how here we are - strangers - and yet are living such parallel lives. It's bizarre. And comforting! I hate that you've been struggling, that being said it's also nice to know that we are not alone in our experiences. For me too I had to quit virtually everything in my life for a stretch so that I could focus on getting well. It was SO much work and truly was a full time job, but definitely worth it. I'm excited for you and your own recover story! Go, go, goooooo!!!!!! 🚀

Raelan Agle Thank you! Omg yesssss, I used to feel so alone in it, but now I’ve got you guys. I was to document my journey in interesting and creative ways. One of them is photos and videos. Is there anything you wish you had taken photos of or talked about in videos when you were really sick or during your recovery journey that you didn’t do? Looking for ideas. For myself but also to help others suffering. I want to talk about and shine a light on things that aren’t talked about enough.

@@bee_anchor how amazing! I think it's such a good idea to document your journey and so smart of you to think about what you will need for this. Personally, I wish I'd taken way more videos of things along the way. Pictures are nice, but videos capture so much more. I also wish I'd taken more photos of the not pretty times. The times when I was struggling, putting on weight because of my health issues, and just generally doing things that I didn't think were photo-worthy. I've always only wanted to showcase the good, but now that I'm sharing my story I don't have much to visually show the really bad times. I'm excited Bianca to see you share your story as well! I'm sure it will mean a lot to many people 💙

Raelan Agle Only just got around to replying due to.... drum rolllll...cfs 😂 Thanks so much. That’s really helpful. You not taking as many photos and videos as you wanted to has inspired me even more to do mine, so you actually helped someone by your ‘mistakes’ hehe, and in turn it will help many. You and your channel are amazing and brave and motivating and will inspire people to get well and know there is hope. You should be wearing a cape cos truly, you are changing the world and helping people save themselves

@@bee_anchor aw Bianca, you are just so wonderful and kind!! Thank you so much for sending so much support my way, I really appreciate it. And I'm glad you can learn from my mistakes! haha that is part of the point In my sharing all of this 🤣 I'm really excited to see your story unfold from here! I'm sure you will help and inspire a ton of people with what you share ❤️

Oh wow, Nick, I feel YOU for sure!!! Stress can definitely destroy me just as easily as exercise. Like you said - even more so actually. And teaching has got to be one of the most difficult jobs out there in my opinion. Just wow. I'm so glad you're getting a break! It's interesting how it seems COVID-19 is actually providing a break and helping some people cope with this illness. Yay for silver linings! Wishing you all the best with your own recovery story and that you don't have to keep going like this for too much longer 🙂

Oh do I ever hear you!! I always told people that I was slowly feeling better, even when I wasn't. Part of it was that I was trying to be optimistic, but looking back I think it was more about telling people what they wanted to hear. Keeping it light, as you say. It really is hard, isn't it! Hope you are managing ok 🙂

aww Thank you! 💓💓💓

Glad to hear you found the episodes valuable, Reggie!

Oh Anni, I am so sorry to hear that. It is SUCH a demanding job though, so it is understandable. Sending you huge virtual hugs for your recovery journey 🤗

I'm so sorry to hear that you are facing this, it sounds quite frustrating and scary. It seems that unfortunately there are a lot of people in your shoes at the moment. I hope you find what you need to get past it soon ✨

Just wondering how you are now?

@@debbieattwell Hello Debbie. I'm doing much better. The symptoms were intense for 1 year. Then year 2 they slowly started to fade away. Now year 3 I'm still more tired than usual and have to avoid intense exercise but I've got none of the symptoms I had been facing for two years: sore throat, muscle twitches, fever, muscular pain, brain fog, memory loss.. It lasted 2 years but I've got my life back. I guess I'm one of the lucky few for whom the situation did not worsen but continued to improve. What about you?

​@@dmdm51100 help im in year 2

​@@dmdm51100 severe brain fog and exhausted feel like dementia

A very good point Anni, and thanks for sharing this 💛

Oh I’m so sorry to hear that 💛