What Exactly Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Never heard of it? No, neither had I until around the age of 12/13. 

It is an invisible illness, an illness that gets brushed under the carpet with not enough exposure. It’s a condition with an unknown cause to it. The most common time to be struck down by CFS is after a viral infection however this isn’t always the way it happens. For me though this was when I got diagnosed with the condition, both times, after nasty chest infections that had completely floored me. 

But why don’t we talk about it? When I have told people that I have/had the condition and had to explain what it is they try to understand but I can see them trying to process it and maybe being slightly confused by it which I totally get. I was exactly the same when it first got explained to me. I was like “well I can just get a bit more sleep then I will feel better right?” Oh how wrong I was. 

So what actually are the symptoms I hear you ask? Well the most common systems are extreme and prolonged periods of tiredness, possibly depression, a fever and aches and pains. It can cause people to be bed bound, not even having the energy to brush their own hair. Thankfully mine never went to this extreme. I did have to cut down my hours at school/college, cut out all physical exercise, cut down time spent on my phone, laptop and watching telly (which may not have been a bad thing if I’m honest!) along with smaller lifestyle changes too which I will go into at a later date.  

Unfortunately, there is no ‘one fits all’ treatment that can get rid of the illness. Everyone has to figure what the right way of treating CFS is for them, whether that’s through a major lifestyle change or taking medication.

Cutting my hours down at school (first time around) and college (second time around) was tough for all sorts of reasons - keeping up with the work, keeping friendships going (thankfully I had amazing friends who understood as best they could and supported me the whole way through) and I had to try and keep myself sane! When I first got diagnosed (both times) I was in school/college for 2 hours a day, this may sound like bliss for some people, but I was knackered by the end of those two hours! 

I have been clear of CFS for around 2 years now but I still have to be careful and listen to my body. I am going to be speaking much more on my platforms about how I picked myself back up from the condition and how I am living my life to the max whilst trying to keep that illness as far away from me as I possibly can. 

I don’t think there’s nearly enough awareness of CFS as thre should be and support for people living with the condition, hence why I want to try and get the conversation going on my small corner of the internet. 

Head over to my Instagram too to see more on how I work my gym sessions to suit me - @headtotoegoodtogo 

Meg x