Chronically Glitched Podcast ( M.E / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome )

I had a lovely, positive episode planned this week about finding myself, believing in myself and trying to discover some peace, purpose and meaning in the life I have now. But ME had other plans. I’ve been stuck in a flare-up for the past couple of weeks, and my capacity for absolutely everything has been so low that I can’t even manage the handful of things that usually bring me enjoyment. Writin...

This week, Mum and I go right back to the beginning and talk about our very first jobs, both of which happened to be in Sheffield, and what our first experiences of working life were actually like. I tell Mum how the caravan holiday went, and about trying to juggle enjoying a change of four walls and some family time with Gary and Gabriel while being desperately exhausted and asleep for a lot of i...

Before ME There Was Me, Gail, Madonna and Kylie This week I’m joined by my lovely friend Gail, someone who’s known me through a lot of different versions of my life. We take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the things we used to get up to — our annual trips away, seeing Madonna, a very drunken Kylie concert that neither of us can remember quite as well as we probably should, ending up i...

12 Days for the Crime of Leaving the House This episode, I’m talking about what happened when I dared to leave the house and try being a normal human being for two hours — and ended up sentenced to 12 days of PEM for my crimes. I talk about what those 12 days actually felt like, both physically and emotionally, and the point where I was just really bloody upset and grieving the life ME has taken a...

Im totally in PEM this week, broadcasting from bed! Just a very short hello to everyone just to let you all know, I am stuck in bed in full PEM and will be back in a couple of weeks as normal, thats if I don't crack first. Enjoy this short but bitter interlude and see you guys shortly. Chronically Glitched Podcast Living with M.E./CFS and chronic illness — the reality, the crashes, the dark hu...

This week, there’s actually something to celebrate!  Chronically Glitched has been ranked number 7 on Feedspot’s list of the Best ME/CFS Podcasts.  I’m absolutely chuffed to have made the list, so thank you to everyone who listens, follows, shares or has found their way to this little digital diary. Feedspot – Best ME/CFS Podcasts We also talk about my  home wellness day  – my attempt at creating...

This week’s episode is a shorter one. The episodes in between my  Mum & Me  episodes will often be a bit shorter. It gives me a little more breathing room between the bigger recordings while still letting me check in with you all. After recording my last podcast, I crashed hard with post-exertional malaise (PEM), and I’ve spent the second heatwave stuck in that crash. It’s not that the hot wea...

This week I’m talking about something that’s been on my mind a lot lately. It struck me recently that if you scroll back through our family WhatsApp group, I’m hardly in any of the photos anymore. It’s not because anyone’s left me out. It’s because I haven’t been well enough to be there. I ended up calling it  #Martina’sMissing  because that’s exactly what it feels like. After a while, you realise...

Even Rest Needs Rest This week we’re taking a short break from the podcast. It’s been one of those fortnights where life has simply happened – we’ve had the hot weather, family visiting, and I even managed to have a vasovagal response after eating far too much ice cream! Sometimes there’s no big dramatic reason; it’s just a reminder that living with ME/CFS means listening to your body and knowing...

In this episode of Chronically Glitched, I take a closer look at what an ME/CFS crash actually feels like and the three stages I experience during post exertional malaise (PEM). I talk through the build up, the sudden shutdown phase, the acute crash itself, and the long recovery period that follows. I explain how everyday activities that most people take for granted can trigger severe symptoms, wh...

In this episode Mum and me talk about our little holiday to Marske and how it actually went in reality. We talk about the good moments, the bits where I managed to feel a little more normal again, and then the aftermath afterwards and how long it took my body to recover from pushing beyond its limits. We end up talking a lot about family health and the strange ways illness and certain traits seem...

Episode 13: This Is Also ME, Crashing with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Real Time This wasn’t supposed to be the next episode. Mum and me were due to record properly, but I’ve been really unwell, and instead of disappearing for weeks until I could manage a full episode, I wanted to leave something honest behind in the gap. So this is a shorter episode. About half an hour. Recorded while I’m in the...

Part two with Nicola, now focusing on life after diagnosis. We talk about what Functional Neurological Disorder actually feels like day to day. Nicola describes it as her brain firing on three cylinders instead of five, with signals glitching and misfiring. We cover the reality of non-epileptic seizures, the fear that comes with them, and how quickly life can change. We also talk about the practic...

In this episode of  Chronically Glitched , my friend Nicola joins me for the first part of a very honest conversation. We talk about how we met and how our friendship grew through shared experiences of chronic illness and mental health struggles. Nicola opens up about her journey before diagnosis, including endometriosis, hysterectomy, pancreatitis, open surgery, and functional cognitive impairmen...

We start with a catch up after a busy couple of weeks, including Mum being interviewed about coming over from Ireland. Then we move into what I’ve been doing, including trying at home massage and what it does to the nervous system. We talk about the parasympathetic state and how it can briefly give you a window of feeling more normal, enough to get out of the house, before the reality hits afterwa...

This episode is a conversation with my son Gabriel about what it was actually like growing up with a mum with ME. We talk about when he first realised something wasn’t right, how it affected our day to day life, and what he understood as a child versus what he understands now. He shares honest memories of plans changing, what he found difficult, and the parts of our life that still worked despite...

In this Mum and Me episode we talk about misinformation around ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, and how dangerous cure narratives can spread online. From nervous system “recovery” claims to staged looking health talks and oversimplified recovery stories, we unpack how easy it is for hopeful messaging to become harmful when it ignores the biological reality of ME. Martina talks about her own experi...

Trailer for Episode 8 of Chronically Glitched. In this Mum & Me episode we talk about misinformation around ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, and the real harm that dangerous cure narratives can cause. From nervous system “recovery” claims to oversimplified online advice, we unpack how hopeful messaging can quickly turn into pressure, blame and false hope for people living with ME. We also talk...

It’s Not the Plastering. It’s My Nervous System. When the plasterers were in, nothing catastrophic happened. No one shouted. No one threatened me. Nothing objectively dangerous was going on. And yet my body reacted like I was under attack. In this episode, I talk about what actually happens in my nervous system when my environment changes and I lose control of my space. Because that’s what it was....

PLANS FAIL AND FAIL AGAIN Mum and Me This episode is about plans. Making them. Needing them. Watching them fall apart. Over and over again. In this Mum and Me episode we talk honestly about what it is like when your body does not cooperate with your intentions. When you genuinely want to go out. When you get ready. When you try. And then you do not make it out of the house. Or you do but it costs...

In this bonus episode of Chronically Glitched, I look at love through a disability lens. Not the romanticised version, not the inspirational one, but the real one that happens when illness changes the ground underneath a relationship. I talk about how relationships shift when disability enters the picture. What happens to romance, intimacy, partnership, and identity when life is no longer equal in...

up and coming Bonus Episode out on Sunday please subscribe and follow so you can hear when our new episodes drop

This episode is about how I try to get out of the house while living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). It isn’t about pushing through or being brave. It’s about putting small, practical supports in place so that going out doesn’t completely wipe me out. Living with chronic illness, invisible illness, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and long-term chronic symptom...

In this episode, my mum and I have a conversation about living with invisible illness. I live with myalgic encephalitis, also known as ME or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and we talk openly about chronic fatigue, PEM, pain, and the day to day reality of managing an illness that isn’t always visible. My mum lives with diverticulitis and lower anterior resection syndrome (LARS) following major bow...

Episode two of Chronically Glitched is a New Year check in with chronic illness. I talk about my current chronic fatigue baseline, Christmas and New Year with myalgic encephalitis ME and chronic fatigue syndrome CFS, avoiding resolutions, and living with post exertional malaise PEM. I also share films, TV and audios that have kept me company.