Weekly recovery guidance - ME/CFS, Long Covid and related illnesses

s-porter4
Aug 31, 2025
2 min read

Weekly inspirational quotes, guidance & tips to support recovery from ME/CFS, Long Covid, Fibromyalgia and related illnesses.

Week 16 - 31/8/2025 (Post 18)

'What makes your heart sing?'

It is now widely accepted that nervous system conditions like ME/CFS, Long Covid Fibromyalgia and POTS are rooted in an adverse reaction to stressors. This could be a one off event, but it is more likely that an accumulation over time led to a overload on the system. A hypersensitive nervous system, a brain on high alert and perceiving danger leads to an array of diverse symptoms, including pain, fatigue, sensory and cognitive issues.

Fear is the heart of the problem. As long as the brain perceives that there is an immediate danger, then symptoms will continue, they can get worse and new symptoms can suddenly appear.

So, how do we reduce fear in order to regulate the nervous system?

The answer lies in the communication of safety.

What could this actually look like? It could be calmness, a relaxed posture, no muscle tension or slow breathing, however in my opinion there is nothing more powerful when it comes to reversing fear than the experience of 'Joy.' I will go a step further and say that it is impossible to be experiencing joy and to be in a stressed state at the same time.

Finding joy and things that 'make your heart sing' when faced with these sorts of illnesses is critical for progress and recovery. It needs to be bespoke and personalised to the individual as we are all motivated by different things. I appreciate that when you are heavily restricted, for example being bedbound, then it is more challenging to find opportunities for joy, but it IS possible and indeed very necessary. As your baseline improves, then so can your range of joyful moments.

What does 'joy' look like for you?

a walk around a lake
a chat with a friend on the phone
meditating
a visualisation for your future life
listening to an audiobook
some gentle movement
laughing, or smiling
watching your favourite comedy series
helping someone else
listening to the birds

Ultimately, the experience of joy will be sending a very clear message to the brain that you are safe, that you don't need protecting and therefore your symptoms can be lowered. Of course things are not going to change over night. For many people these illnesses are a long time in the making. The key is consistency and repetition. Constant messages of safety will reduce symptoms.

We know that there is a strong correlation between being focussed on something we enjoy and the level of symptom that we experience.

So,

What will you do do with your 24 hours today?

What is going to put a smile on your face?

What will help you relax and take your mind off symptoms?

What is going to keep you engaged?

What is going to bring down the fear that is within you?

Stay positive and get that heart singing!

Until next week.

Stuart