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

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.

Just a short update for you on how my body has let me down and delayed my planned time to record and edit my January episode, due to PEM, pet grief and Gravity seemingly double strength. Didn’t want to leave you hanging till January’s proper episode hits and I fancied a catch up. M.E / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Digital Diary Chronically Glitched

In this bonus Christmas episode I talk about my family going out for a Christmas meal together and how I thought I had numbed myself to it. I honestly thought I had stopped feeling anything about missing these things. But while I was talking the tears just came out of nowhere. It surprised me more than anyone. This is me sitting with the real side of Christmas when you are ill and the emotions you...

Episode 1 is my introductory episode. I’m giving you a bit of background on who I am, what my life looks like now, and how I ended up living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME. I talk about the Buttermilk Incident, the day my body tipped over the edge and never bounced back. I cover my family life, my situation, and how I’ve had to rebuild a very different version of myself after getting sick. I’m...