Weekly recovery guidance - ME/CFS, Long Covid and related illnesses.
- s-porter4
- Sep 26
- 3 min read
Weekly inspirational quotes, guidance & tips to support recovery from ME/CFS, Long Covid, Fibromyalgia and related illnesses.
Post 18 - 26/9/2025
The Enemies of CFS, Long Covid and Fibromyalgia
2 - Fixating on symptoms
When it comes to the enemies of these type of illnesses there is nothing more significant and influential than the impact of stress on the nervous system and I will tackle this in a future blog. However there are others, such as how we react to symptoms, boredom and today's topic, fixating on symptoms.
There are over 100 recorded symptoms associated with these chronic illnesses. They include pain, fatigue, sensory issues, sensations in the body, digestive issues, orthostatic issues etc. We must conclude that there is a central issue at play. That central issue is a hypersensitive nervous system and a brain on high alert, scanning for potential danger at every opportunity.
Symptoms experienced are often very uncomfortable, alarming and shocking. They vary in intensity, duration and location in the body, and are often diverse in nature. Some will come and go, some will stay constant, new symptoms can appear suddenly and some will just disappear suddenly. It is very normal for one symptom to be dominant. Fatigue is a common one, as are brain fog and dizziness.
Symptoms are a message that something is not right e.g. your needs are not being met, and/or you are not safe. It is totally understandable why we fixate on symptoms, but that does not help us make progress, or recover. The brain wants our attention. It is often working off misinformation and perceives a threat that is far more dangerous than the reality. By paying too much attention to the symptoms, we are only 'feeding the beast,' and are confirming the belief that we are unsafe. The brain will consider this to be a fear response.
I regularly see the following;
People try to analyse why a new symptom might have appeared.
They get very upset if a particular symptom becomes more intense.
Anxiety sets in if a symptom reappears.
Concerns rise if they feel they have been 'pushing' themselves, and believe this has resulted in an increase in particular symptoms.
Experiencing a deep fear that the symptom is related to something far more serious.
Believing that their body is in some way 'broken.'
People automatically assume that a rise in symptoms means that they need to rest for a long period of time.
The list above could go on and on! My point is that we need to do all we can to avoid too much attention on symptoms. I am not suggesting that we ignore them, and this is not advisable, or not even possible. I am suggesting that you are curious, sometimes 'unbothered' and you try to engage in something else when symptoms rise. Ideally this should be something that provides you with joy. Perhaps, even welcome the symptoms in and use them as a helpful tool. You might even consider what the meaning behind the symptom is, perhaps that you have engaged in too much overthinking, maybe there has been too much intensity or you have not being balanced in terms of physical, mental and emotional energy.
I am going to leave you with these thoughts.
Symptoms are not the enemy and are the way to rewire your brain back to normal. They are just a message from the brain and nervous system. You are not broken!
Take care
Stuart
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