When trying to recover becomes exhausting
Living with chronic illness is hard enough. But for many people, trying to get better becomes exhausting too.
The researching.
The appointments.
The supplements.
The symptom tracking.
The constant wondering what to try next.
If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.
When trying to recover becomes exhausting
Living with chronic illness is hard enough. But for many people, trying to get better becomes exhausting too.
The researching.
The appointments.
The supplements.
The symptom tracking.
The constant wondering what to try next.
If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.
You might recognise yourself here...
You spend more time thinking about your health than you’d like.
You’re not sure what’s helping anymore.
Every new recommendation you come across creates another decision for you to make.
You’re worried about stopping something, in case your health gets worse, or it might have helped if you’d just given it a bit longer.
You feel like managing your illness has become a full-time job.
You can’t remember the last time your health didn’t take up so much of your life.
You don’t need to tick every box.
If even a couple of these feel familiar, you’re in the right place.
The thing nobody really talks about
When you’re living with chronic illness, of course you look for answers.
You read.
You research.
You try things.
You hope.
That’s what most of us would do.
But over time, something else can happen.
Trying to recover quietly becomes another full-time job.
Not because you’re doing anything wrong. Because every new appointment, supplement, article, podcast and opinion adds another thing to think about.
Before long, your illness isn’t the only thing taking your energy – managing it is too.
At some point, trying to recover can become another full-time job.
A note from Jo
For years I watched my own family live like this.
Our lives revolved around appointments, supplements, researching and trying to make sense of symptoms that changed on a daily basis.
Like so many families, we kept hoping the next thing might finally be the thing that helped.
Then one day I realised something. We weren’t just living with illness anymore. We were living inside the management of illness.
That changed how I think about chronic illness.
And it’s why I do the work I do today.
How I can help
I don’t diagnose or replace your healthcare team.
And I’m not here to give you another long list of things to try.
My role is to help you step back and look at the bigger picture.
Together, we’ll look at everything you’re trying to manage and work out what deserves your time and energy now.
- Sometimes that means noticing patterns you’ve stopped seeing.
- Sometimes it means questioning things you’ve been dealing with for years.
- Sometimes it simply means feeling like you don’t have to work it all out on your own anymore.
It’s thoughtful, practical support for people who are exhausted by trying to recover.
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A few kind words
‘I turned up in tears, embarrassed and overwhelmed, and she just listened.’
Hannah H.
‘She never rushed me and never made me feel stupid for worrying.’
Rachel S.
‘I finally feel like I’m not failing my daughter anymore.’
Kate W.
I'm writing a new guide.
Over the past year, my thinking about chronic illness has changed quite a bit. I’m taking the time to write something that reflects that. If you’d like me to send it to you when it’s ready, you can join my newsletter below.