Treatment at the clinic has been the best thing I have ever done for my health.
I began working with Anna at the clinic -mostly via phone- in 2005, after six years of M.E and depression. At this point I had no social life, hardly left the house and was at my lowest ebb, constantly feeling terrible. I’d had to drop out of university back in 1999 and gone into a downward spiral where everything seemed hopeless. I’d tried conventional medication (antidepressants for pain and depression; sleeping tablets; CBT) and complementary treatments like reflexology and massage to no avail. I’d attempted Pacing and ended up feeling suicidal. Only my small online network of M.E friends, and the hope that I would one day find the right approach for me, kept me going. Things started to change when I read Alex Howard’s book, Why Me? and became interested in his way of working. But I was still cautious- I’d need to take a trip to London for the first treatment, and there was no guarantee it would work. I’d spent thousands of pounds on treatments already, I wasn’t sure I could stand to try and fail again. But then a friend of mine started treatment with Anna, and told me how positive she was feeling as a result. This gave me the push I needed! I arranged an informal chat with Anna to learn about her way of working. (If anyone is thinking of trying the clinic, I’d recommend asking to speak to a practioner before you make up your mind, this gave me the confidence that the treatment was definitely worth a try).
The best thing about the clinic is that they understand M.E. Anna has been there herself and come out the other side as have many of her patients and that means there’s nothing I could say that would surprise her, or that she can’t find a way to help me with. She is always professional and respectful- but relates to me like a friend, with no awkwardness. I truly believe she wants to help me and we have a great rapport. It’s made me realise how little trust I had in practitioners in the past.
The treatment does involve a lot of self-motivation- it’s simple, but isn’t always easy. It is worth it though. It’s long-term, and the longer you’ve been ill the longer your recovery will take- but the sooner you start, the sooner you can be on the right path! I’m 10 months on from my first treatment, and in some ways my life hasn’t changed: I still have M.E, I still live at home, I don’t know when I’ll return to university. But for the first time in over seven years, I can see a future for myself and that feels like a miracle.
So many incredible things have happened this year that I thought were light-years away for me: I’ve done ‘small’ things like go to the hairdressers for the first time in years and huge things like fulfil a lifetime’s ambition to be published in a professional magazine. I’ve completed a short course with the Open University, been offered a column in a new online magazine and been given a small job writing book reviews for a website. In the last month, I’ve been out (three times!) on the bus on my own- something I hadn’t managed in almost four years… AND I enjoyed myself! My social life and self-confidence is improving, and I now see myself as someone who has M.E as just one part of her life, rather than an M.E ‘sufferer’ consumed by ill-health. I am making plans to meet up with the M.E friends I’ve met online, and am going to a wedding involving an overnight stay in a couple of months. I can’t quite believe what I’m achieving! Taking the risk to try these things hasn’t always been easy, but the clinic has given me the tools to work through my fears of relapse or doing too much, and to deal with it when I don’t feel so great. As a result, I have less relapses and my energy is more sustained. In future, I know I’ll feel fully fit and healthy and able to do even more, and I can’t wait!
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