My Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Recovery Story (4 years to 110% recovered!)

Summary

The presenter describes a four-year, nonlinear recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome that began after a severe viral illness in 2019. She says there was no single solution: she gradually explored physical health factors, ways to manage stress and symptoms, and strategies to keep going.

She reports that she now feels better than before her illness, but emphasizes that this is her personal experience—not medical advice or a formula that will work for everyone.

Strategies and approaches she found helpful

• Investigate possible physical contributors with ongoing support. After standard appointments and earlier supplement-heavy approaches did not help, she worked with a team that provided regular follow-up, testing, and adjustments.

  • She says the team identified mould illness, which they treated with activated charcoal, and a severe iodine deficiency, which they treated with supplementation.
  • She also followed a tailored gut-health supplement protocol.
  • These are details of her own care, not general recommendations.

• Experiment carefully with diet. After trying other dietary approaches, she followed a low-FODMAP diet for six weeks and then reintroduced foods. She identified garlic and onion as personal triggers and says avoiding them helped her feel she had more capacity. She stresses that dietary needs are individual.

• Build a meditation and nervous-system regulation toolkit. She used meditation to help settle herself during fatigue or symptom flare-ups. One 40-minute mindfulness meditation from Dan Neuffer’s ANS Rewire course became a daily practice; she says it took about 30 days before she noticed a meaningful difference. She also used somatic experiencing techniques with a trauma-informed therapist to feel safer and less alarmed when symptoms arose.

• Take a compassionate approach to symptoms. Somatic techniques helped her interrupt cycles of hypervigilance and constantly trying to identify what had caused each symptom. She also looked for ongoing stressors she might be able to address.

• Restart movement in very small steps. To ease back into activity, she sometimes began by walking to the next house and back, then gradually increased the distance when she felt able.

• Track habits to maintain momentum. She used a wall chart and crossed off each day she completed a chosen habit. This gave her a visible record of consistency, even when she did not notice immediate improvement.

• Learn from recovery stories and seek useful connections. She recommends listening to stories from people whose experiences resonate, noticing recurring themes, and reaching out when appropriate. She says contacting Kristen Dainis helped her find a medical team that suited her needs.

• Ask for help and be open about difficulties. Sharing how unwell she was with her audience—and accepting support—helped her stop pushing herself to produce work when she could not manage it.

Sources and presenters mentioned

• Presenter: The unnamed creator of A Touchy Subject
• Honor Easley / Big Feels Club: Inspiration for the “cracking a code” analogy
• Kristen Dainis: Recovery-story interviewee who helped the presenter find a medical team
• Melbourne Functional Medical: The presenter’s care team
• Irene Lyon: Nervous-system education and resources
• Dan Neuffer / ANS Rewire: Course and mindfulness meditation
• The presenter’s trauma-informed therapist: Taught her somatic experiencing techniques