In June 2021, I found myself being pushed in a wheelchair through a labyrinth of hospital corridors, barely able to walk or speak.

I realised that I was singing out loud to myself, softly and slowly, a single line over and over: “It’s a long way to where I’m going”. In my incapacitated, almost child-like state, it was comforting, like a lullaby.

After 5 nights in hospital, with the doctors none the wiser, I stabilised back home but didn't improve. Months passed and nothing seemed to help.

I found it very difficult to find useful advice on how to recover from chronic fatigue, or even get a diagnosis. Doctors didn’t recognise the condition and there is a large amount of conflicting information.

I didn't have the energy to do detailed or even basic research. 400 page books were just not an option, which isolated me even further. I just wanted someone to tell me what I needed to do, in clear, simple terms.

Fortunately, I was pointed to the Optimum Health Clinic, who started me on my journey to recovery.

In the time since, I have made significant progress in recovery and have a much better understanding of the causes of fatigue and, most importantly, practical steps to tackle it.

This blog and newsletter is my attempt to fix the information gap by distilling the lessons I've learned about fatigue and recovery into bite size posts that are accessible for people who have limited energy.

If you, or someone you care about, is suffering from chronic fatigue, I hope it goes some way towards pointing things in the right direction.

Recovery from fatigue is a major mental and physical undertaking. It’s particularly hard to look at your own behaviours and thought patterns; often major causes and perpetuators of chronic stress, and act to make a change.

I ended up in hospital in significant part because I handled stress and other aspects of mental and physical health by powering through and fighting my own body, which was not sustainable.

That knowledge isn’t about blaming myself, it’s about working with instead of against myself and my body, for the first time in decades.

My simple song from hospital turned out to be prescient. Recovery is a long journey, but fortunately many people have already shown that it is possible not just to recover but to come out with a more rounded, healthy and holistic life.

And that’s the silver lining of chronic fatigue. This is a chance to correct the balance; to finally build a sustainable, long term relationship with yourself.

— Matt

If you'd like to get in touch, send me an email