The Pool: This is how it feels to be exhausted

Andy · Mar 25, 2018

It’s been eight weeks since Frances Ryan left the house, five weeks since she learnt to eat again – and three months since exhaustion took its hold. This is a familiar reality for millions of women living with debilitating illness in the UK, she says. So, why aren’t we talking about it?
...
For Rosie Fletcher, her ME means both her body and mind can simultaneously experience “complete exhaustion". “It varies from day to day how it affects me,” she says. “On my worst days, I have to turn the television off because I’m too tired to keep my eyes open to watch it – thank goodness for podcasts – and if someone asks me if I want a cup of tea, I can’t work out the answer.”

No one really talks about this. There are millions of women in the UK living with debilitating physical illnesses or disabilities – whether that’s a short spell of bad health or long-term, chronic conditions. And yet I realise, as I write this, that I’ve not had these conversations. I can count the number of times I’ve spoken in detail about illness – no editing, full detail – with friends or family on thumbs, let alone one hand. Twenty-eight-year-old Fletcher tells me she spends much of her time minimising “how bad I am” to smooth over social interactions – “it’s just easier to glide over it” – and I know I’ve done the same more times than I want to remember.
Click to expand...

https://www.the-pool.com/health/health/2018/12/frances-ryan-on-what-it-feels-like-to-be-exhausted

Awol · Mar 25, 2018

Lovely to see Katharine Seton included..

Katharine Seton, who is researching a PhD on ME and herself has the condition, says there’s a big problem in the medical profession with taking conditions like ME seriously. “In early ME research, psychiatrists pushed the belief that if these patients altered their mindset, they’d simply recover. This is far from the truth.” While progress is being made in health professionals’ understanding of ME, she says, some patients are still waiting years for a diagnosis with terrible consequences. “[It leads to them] often having difficulty getting benefits and end up living in poverty and moving back in with their parents.”
Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/user/status/977618812869726211

Katharine Seton's research blogs are here: http://www.investinme.org/ce-research-blogs.shtml

Log in or Sign up

The Pool: This is how it feels to be exhausted

Andy Committee Member

Awol Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

The Pool: This is how it feels to be exhausted

Andy Committee Member

Awol Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Share This Page

Useful Searches