One of the hardest things I’ve had to face since being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – right up there with all of the pain, fatigue and brain fog – is feeling like a failure.
Before I was ill, I had one goal and one goal alone. I was going to be a journalist, and nothing was going to stop me. I was your typical Type A; working hard to become a success was a major priority, second only to family. I was doing okay, too. I’d got my undergraduate degree, done an internship at BBC Television and was studying for a master’s degree in communication.
But, like so many people with CFS and other chronic illnesses, so much was taken away from me once I became ill. I had to drop out of university, move back in with my parents, and, suddenly, I couldn’t even write a sentence let alone an article. There was pain, nausea and plenty of other symptoms, but the biggest blow was the fact that my dream had disintegrated right in front of my eyes. I saw myself as having gone from a promising young journalist to a complete failure in a matter of weeks.
