Internal medicine over achieving physician with severe dysautonomia due to long covid here. It is so healing to watch fellow men on this podcast. Hugs (if you accept them James). Raelen you are an angel. I come from the dark world of medicine. I learned about the darkness when my partner got severe ME and is now bedbound. The wisdom in this community is saving my life. I scoffed at neural re training for years. And now it's helping me be reborn. And these stories. The sheer love and spirit and honest human emotions. Souls being bared. Words cannot describe how such interactions make me feel sometimes. Thank you ❤
Great interview! Hey Raelan... Not sure if you remember me from previous comments n conversation... Wanted to share that I have made a significant recovery in the last 2-3 months. It's 1 year and a month of severe Long Covid Syndrome experience. I'm sure I'm not fully recovered but as compared to the previous frequent and extremely terrifying crashes, now I'm able to do most of my daily routine stuff, going out for shopping, doing night-shift job (work-from-home), driving 2-3 hours twice a week, play little bit of indoor cricket etc. Some very obvious medium to light crashes occur when I exert myself sometimes in excitement doing all of this stuff. I'm still far far away from my Pre-Covid athelete kind of fitness, but happy that I have made this much recovery. Other than doing what all is shared by you in your videos I'm also trying Antihistamine medicines from last 1 month, 2 different meds, one in night (hydroxyzine hydrochloride 25 mg) and one empty stomach in morning (fexofenadine hydrochloride 180 mg); other than some supplements good for nerves, like B12. And I also do earthing/grounding in natural ways (not with electrical pads), n some exposure to Sunlight for Vit D. Will again share with you how it goes moving forward. Thanks a lot for being with us!!!! 🧡 I was never usually a person having easy tears in eyes. But I'm suddenly having tears reaching at the end of what I had to write to you from last few days. I was lacking confidence in writing and was having doubt. I was thinking that I should wait to recover even more. Just got time to watch this video and got inspired to write this if it gives someone more hope and motivation. Thanks again! 🙏🙏
Lalit, this is amazing!!! I'm so happy to hear about all the progress that you've made. Great work! It is moving for me as well to read what you've wrote. It's so incredible to hear that you are slowly getting your health and life back. Your beautiful message and update on your progress has made my week 0 thank you so much for taking the time (and energy and courage) to share it and I'm excited to hear about your progress moving forward! 💛
@@lalitupadhyay9271 i do'nt know you but am pleased to hear of your progress. I am also incorporating grounding into my routine ( barefoot beach walks at dawn) and it is having a positive effect. I normalised my circadian rhythm using a light box, and now wake up just before dawn every day. I also started a probiotic that was developed by scientists especially for people with long covid, although i have cfs, not long covid. The probiotic is called yourgutplus. I think grounding naturally , plus using early morning light( or lightbox) to balance circadian rhythms is a really important part of the puzzle. I wish you a full recovery.
I adored this interview! I completely resonated about the brain training programmes...i have been helped hugely by the brain training programme I did but I platued the past few months and have changed my approach to be flexible with it and concentrate on bringing joy to my life rather than waiting till I'm 'fully recovered'. There is too much emphasis on only full recovery in this space and yes of course we want this...but there can be years until we get there and the pressure of the final goal can be just too much and unnecessary sometimes.
Credit to James for finding recovery and using his experience to help others. I particularly resonated with his points around identity, balance, and letting go of perfectionism and showing vulnerability. Thanks again Raelan for running this channel and surfacing great interviews. Matt x
A lovely interview. I'm going to try his free brain training course as sadly, I can't afford the 6 week course. Losing your identity as a person I can relate to as this illness does strip you of your self confidence and self esteem. Currently experiencing regular flare ups so am going to rest, rest, rest and build up to my baseline gradually..having this illness is a full time job and trying to recover from it is also a full time job. We must never give up hope!
Try what u think will work . Find ways of doing things that don’t tax u so much .. I found one out by accident & not on any sites . It was a life hack .. Use a flannel instead of a Towel . When I read it I thought we’ll that’s not going to work !? EH !!! A flannel .. So I tried it ! More for the hell of it really ! … but starting on my legs & Arms towards my Heart . It dries off the excess water ! & when I reached for my bath towel I really didn’t need it that much !!! & the best part is … I’m not so tired afterward !!! Because it DOSENT take so much energy ! The flannels r very light weight ! … I think the life hack was meant to be that we don’t need lots of Towels hanging around .. Eish I had known this when I had all my kids at home ! lol good luck blessings xxx
Such a warmth inspiring interview! I can relate a lot to the idea that pushing yourself from the chronic fatigue doesn't help. Did that for many years and things were just worsening. Surrendering, self acceptance, self love, solving trauma, getting to know your nervuos system patterns was a path to my healing..
I feel like this is so true, If you can say to youre self I’m going to live my life with or without this, and I’m okay about it. That’s is true healing
Thank you both so much. I have enrolled in James' rewiring class and am looking for that softer personalized approach, having not succeeded with two of the 'big' programs.
james has a lovely vibe. i have enrolled on his newsletter, and may do his programme. i was unsuccessful on LP as my brain would just not accept the technique.
Fantastic interview,thank you both of you. I have just tried James’ free brain training exercise and LOVED it. James, you are clearly going to be a huge gift and marvelous addition to the CFS healing community. Heartfelt appreciation to you.
Hi Dave - thank you so much for your kind words, really appreciate it and so glad that you are enjoying the brain retraining :). Take care and speak soon. James
Oh god is he right about not being understood !!! Ppl Think u pick n choose what who u will do be with . I try to do all of it & at the moment I’m Not having to work / not able but fear the future .. This needs more awareness ! Ppl say everyone gets tired & now I’m 60 it’s my age ! .. Thanks for still being here !! From bottom of my heart . I need motivational something now . PS I listened to the woman who tried Protein Powder . I’m in 10 days now & im Reporting it HAS made a difference as in some days I can’t nap !!!!!! So it’s working .. plus I have Ddd & other things which hamper my recovery Xxx
Thank you so much for your channel! I am so thankful you are keeping it up even after returning to work. I think I’ve watched all of your videos. What struck me about this interview as James was describing his recovery, was it reminded me of when someone has a stroke. They have to slowly get back their ability to do what they used to how they used to do it. With ME/CFS, it’s as if the mechanism for producing energy and recovering from exertion got damaged. Now we have to slowly and gently rehab that ability just like a stroke patient. I am looking forward to doing graded exercise how you’ve suggested it in other videos after I move to a one story home in a couple months. I’m confident that this will be helpful. Many blessings to you, and thank you again for all your caring and thoughtful ways to share your Journey and your knowledge.
Great interview thanks Raelan and James! 👍 so much of James’s recovery experience resonated with mine-the lack of understanding and compassion for what you’re going through, adapting brain training to a more personal approach and acknowledging that things you tried that didn’t seem to work actually all had a part to play and was somehow necessary to get you where you needed to be. I am on my 3rd bout of cfs so can also relate to how devastating it is to get it again but i also know recovery is possible and i can see how falling back into old unhelpful patterns and behaviours combined with unavoidable stressful life events is what opened the door to its return x i will recover again but i hope i’ve learned enough to avoid it coming back again x thanks for these videos Raelan ❤️
I know how hard it is to bounce back again like that so it's amazing that you've had the resilience to be on that path again - I'm sure that previous experience will serve you so well with your belief and understanding of yourself. Thanks so much for sharing! James
Another great, helpful interview! THANKS The discussion about vulnerability and the need for flexibility day to day brought up one of my great challenges - making commitments. I’m unsure how I’ll feel in the next days or weeks. I want to be a part of life and people as much as possible, but the common experience of CFS is that others don’t understand how we can be ok one day and bed bound the next. I would love to see a video about how people have navigated making and keeping commitments with such variable functioning. Thanks tremendously for what you do! I
Hi Raelan, thank you so much for this interview and all that you do for ME/CfS sufferers. I just tried James’ free brain retraining exercise and had an immediate albeit small decrease in symptoms! I really appreciate you connecting us with others who can offer different pieces to the healing puzzle 💕
Great interview, I just rewound and watched again straight away. So helpful and the idea of not taking recovery so seriously but building it into your overall lifestyle really resonated ❤️
This is just so great, thank you for sharing! Love your approach to redefining 'full recovery' and encouraging maximizing your life right where you are. So encouraging and also reminded me not to be striving to get to a certain place where I think I will be happy.
I am that guy who tried to return to a similar level of activity after 12 years of recovering only to suffer a big relapse = a real nightmare. Thanks for your videos …..they still give me some hope despite this.
Richard, I'm so sorry to hear that you've been dealing with this for so long. I hope you find all your puzzles pieces and can finally put this all behind you soon
Thank you both. All your comments resonated with me. I also found brain retraining a chore that played on my achiever parts so agree that it should be done in a relaxed way. There are some excellent aspects of the training but I agree you need to find which bits help you. A lovely interview….. I’m still pretty unwell so not grateful at all for this illness 😝 I’m curious to know what work you both did on your identity (because I feel I lost mine).
Hey Tammy! I did a lot of work on my values and stripping back and identifying all the things that bring my joy that I can still embody in imperfect health - that helped a lot and gave me direction too! Hope that helps :)
Loved this interview ! ´this journey is also rethinking your identity ´and rebuilding a new one.. We can’t go back to who we were.. we needed this complete transformation to become healthy and more in balance ! Thanks to both of you for sharing this inspiring story and insights ! 🙏🌺❤️
Great episode! I really live James' approach. It resonates with me deeply. Brain retraining programs are often very top-down. And, really anxiety producing. I prefer people meet me where I am at. I know my needs and they are highly specific. I think health coaches are a better route for some of us.
Ps Raelan, I have just bought your book and I'm currently reading it. It's terrific. Makes a great partner to your RUclips videos. Also helping me to think more about the things that I'm not doing but need to.
Thank you James and Raglan, just found your channel. I'm just starting my journey with ME/CFS at 22 years old and am looking for inspiration. Thank you
My experience is in line with Raelan's comment that sometimes "relapses" happen and you have to bring yourself back. Sometimes it feels like a bit of an addiction to me, not to pathologize it in another way, but I think the framework can be useful. Stressful activities can have a certain pull because achieving is exciting - stress is stimulating, caffeine pumps you up. Healthy routine can be a bit dull in comparison, as can all the other well regulated activities. I think that's where the importance of fun and joy come in, because those things can be stimulating and fulfilling in a grounded, healthy way. Thanks for helping me put that distinction into words.
This interview has really resonated with me. I first became ill at the age of 10, but as James said, no one in the NHS really knew what was going on at the time. My parents were told it was neurological and that it may return if I ever got a viral illness again. I was ‘well’ until I was 46 and then, due to the perfect storm, I became ill again. I completely relate to being an overachiever, perfectionist, people pleaser etc and I now recognise how much stress I took on that wasn’t really mine to internalise. I’ve had ME/CFS for over 6 years now and am still trying to find a balance that will keep me well. Thank you Raelan and James.
My CFS lasted 6 months. I found it was from cervical instability &&& a loss of the C curve in my neck. Those 2 things caused my jugular vein and Vagus nerve to be pinched off. Caring medical in Florida is fixing me. GLTA
i feel like you did brain retraining in your own way raelan from what ive watched in your videos, your thought catching, visualisation meditations and journaling that you do are pretty similar to the brain retraining im doing
It wasn't the best time, I'll admit David! Very scary, isolating and a real sense of helplessness - but I was also very fortunate to have parents who wouldn't give up getting to the root of what was happening when I couldn't!
Raelan (and others) suggest eating tons of natural probiotics (kefir, kombucha, saurkraut etc) rather than taking probiotic supplements. The probiotics really help the gut problems. My mom and i both have IBS and probiotics stopped her diarhhea and also stopped my constipation
You have to be careful with probiotics and fermented foods when you have candida as it can aggravate it/feed it. An anti candida diet is a great way to get rid of candida...I follow one now. Also ozone therapy helped me a bit too 😊 I have been able to start back on probiotics the last couple of months but fermented foods are still a no go....but you can test it yourself...you'll know if it's too much for your stomach. I cleared up my IBS with eliminating foods that caused it...in my case that was gluten and dairy. Stress also flared it up for me too.
Unless you're having actual yeast infections or oral thrush etc, my understanding is that candida is just an easy scapegoat or preoccupation that deflects the mind from looking at what really holds the host of symptoms in place - which is the nervous system. A lot of these vague concepts (mold, candida, food intolerances etc) can be easy to hang on to but are difficult to test for, so they're easy pins for symptoms. If we go deeper, nervous system dysregulation can cause a whole host of symptoms, including digestive symptoms, and dysregulation of all kinds of bodily processes. If nervous system dysregulation is the cause, then lifestyle changes, meditation, yoga, trauma healing, and brain-retraining are some places to consider starting.
It's really hard to get anything from this it's so vague. Did anything work or not work? The answer seems to be everything both did and didn't help. And it didn't sound like recovery it sound slowly very very tentative living. I hope for everyone that a greater level of recovery is met then that.
Whilst this guy is very eloquent and seems lovely, this is not recovery or healing. This is accepting your disability and working within your means not health. He has not recovered he has adjusted and tried to put his body is a self healing space. I’m glad he is better but don’t oversell this please
I think both did an amazing and nuanced job at honestly capturing things in a humble way. James had severe ME and now leads a wonderful full and active life now. I'd see it as embracing ones self and living a life of balance. The idea that only people who are 100 percent always never a symptom should share their story of healing and recovery is missing out on so many wonderful insights. Yes, it's possible to live a life free of limitations and symptoms (there are people who state "full" recovery). However, the 100% better label and target for people with achiever personalities creates more stress that isn't helpful for healing. Please consider that and that people who share their stories put their hearts out there, so please don't minimize someone.
@@HealwithLiz Its really hard to get the nuance here as he doesnt talk too much about his current capacity, other than he has a meaningful life? It would be really helpful to know what that actually means for future interviews. I know you are trying to inspire people and im not trying to shoot you down, sorry if it came accross that way. I think a great question to understand what is happening for people who say they are 'recovered' in ways that other people can understand is can you physicaly and mentaly do a lot of the things you could do, by spending most of the productive hours of the day using some form of mental or physical energy? Its great that you dont wizz around doing 2342342 million things and that change is probably the only positive that ME can bring us in our lives - but I guess I struggle to fully understand something like "can you work and go home and cook and shower and make your bed and see a friend and go to sleep and wake up" because thats a normal, non-stressed life. Or is it "I can do a lot less but im at peace with that". I know its really hard to ask and answer those question but I think exploring it with people would really help. Thank you I appreciate you trying to help people suffering from this god awful nightmare
@@siobhanchristine-bligh183 Aye. I do know/follow James so do have a sense of his full active meaningful life, and can understand why you might have assumed the worst since he didn't note his physical and mental benchmarks. Raelan seems to discuss 'life now' with all her guests -- it's actually an easy question to ask and answer. However, I can understand why James made the choice to not provide physical and mental capacity benchmarks, since previously that's where he measured his success and if he had a symptom, etc. it made him feel like a failure. And I can see why he wants to model that to other achiever types out there, where he places his value in himself on a deeper level. What's fascinating is that the people who I know who healed from severe ME -- many of their turning points came when they learned to find joy and meaning in their life and value and accept themselves vs focusing on "fighting to get better / fix symptoms because then I'll be happy." Nevertheless, I do want to honor that it's a lot lot harder to do that if you can't take care of your basic needs. Anyway -- the two things that are tough to hear when sharing your story are "you're disabled just thinking positively" or on the complete opposite end "you never had ME" ... but a really appreciate your honesty and discussion here, because I think other people had your similar question and we're all in this / out of this together. Sending you my support
@@HealwithLiz i do hear what you are saying. For me I was a high achiever but there were lots of activities that were deeply rooted in my physical sexual and mental health life, mainly rock climbing. Without that I am lesser than who I was because it was a source of utter joy. So if I recover a benchmark like that would be something I would discuss, but I also used to have an insane job digging up landmines and I will never go back to wanting to do stressful stuff like that and I don’t consider it a failure. So I guess it’s those sort of questions around a functional sense that I have. I have the Long Covid me/CFS and I’m pretty adamant it’s an autoimmune condition, so that’s my main treatment Avenue (working well with CBD and LDN) and at the moment I am resisting brain stuff until I feel I can cope. Thanks again
@@siobhanchristine-bligh183 Wow landmines, what an interesting life experience! I understand about the rock climbing tied to meaning etc. in life (my best friend enjoys that). Here are some interviews that might help. My one big takeaway though is that brain retraining stuff only works when you're fully ready and explored other options first. I went deep into the medical route / supplement etc for 2 years, and got what I needed from it... it also had its drawbacks, and then found brain stuff when I had tried everything and was ready. 1. Matt's (Matthew butler) on his Long Covid recovery on Raelan's channel -- note what he did before brain stuff. Really good insights from someone who initially seemed skeptical about the brain retraining. 2. Luke on Raelan's channel and pacing stuff with Pamela Rose. 3. My interview with Carly, an adventure athlete rock climber person. And how for her it was about nervous system regulation and also acceptance. She didn't do the future visualization brain retraining stuff. Go to my blog for our interview transcript, video, and resource links. (Note: the Wim Hoff breathing she did I hear can be a challenge for people in severe/moderate states.) She has a great free website of what worked for her. 4. My interview with Katie -- who biohacked her way out (the nervous system was a key component but so were other lifestyle and diet stuff). She did ANS Rewire. 5. My interview with Astra (just changed her name to Lorelai) who talks about brain retraining and her speciality of finding joy -- her instagram handle is yayneuroplasticity and she has another handle queerneuroplasticity. It seems like James just shared a free resource too for consideration to dip your toes in the water. :)
It’s all worry and Stress, even if wer’e not aware of it ! Myself, and my two daughters have had it for years and years. (Wer’e, is spelt we’re ! Just brain fog! )
Great interview, I just rewound and watched again straight away. So helpful and the idea of not taking recovery so seriously but building it into your overall lifestyle really resonated ❤️
Don't worry about making them shorter stories, we need the full story to be able to understand, thank you guys
Internal medicine over achieving physician with severe dysautonomia due to long covid here. It is so healing to watch fellow men on this podcast. Hugs (if you accept them James). Raelen you are an angel. I come from the dark world of medicine. I learned about the darkness when my partner got severe ME and is now bedbound. The wisdom in this community is saving my life. I scoffed at neural re training for years. And now it's helping me be reborn. And these stories. The sheer love and spirit and honest human emotions. Souls being bared. Words cannot describe how such interactions make me feel sometimes. Thank you ❤
Great interview! Hey Raelan... Not sure if you remember me from previous comments n conversation...
Wanted to share that I have made a significant recovery in the last 2-3 months. It's 1 year and a month of severe Long Covid Syndrome experience.
I'm sure I'm not fully recovered but as compared to the previous frequent and extremely terrifying crashes, now I'm able to do most of my daily routine stuff, going out for shopping, doing night-shift job (work-from-home), driving 2-3 hours twice a week, play little bit of indoor cricket etc. Some very obvious medium to light crashes occur when I exert myself sometimes in excitement doing all of this stuff.
I'm still far far away from my Pre-Covid athelete kind of fitness, but happy that I have made this much recovery.
Other than doing what all is shared by you in your videos I'm also trying Antihistamine medicines from last 1 month, 2 different meds, one in night (hydroxyzine hydrochloride 25 mg) and one empty stomach in morning (fexofenadine hydrochloride 180 mg); other than some supplements good for nerves, like B12.
And I also do earthing/grounding in natural ways (not with electrical pads), n some exposure to Sunlight for Vit D.
Will again share with you how it goes moving forward.
Thanks a lot for being with us!!!! 🧡
I was never usually a person having easy tears in eyes. But I'm suddenly having tears reaching at the end of what I had to write to you from last few days. I was lacking confidence in writing and was having doubt. I was thinking that I should wait to recover even more. Just got time to watch this video and got inspired to write this if it gives someone more hope and motivation.
Thanks again! 🙏🙏
This was the loveliest comment to read. I don't know you and I'm so pleased for you!
@@sarahmaurice3930 so sweet of you! thanks 😊 Blessings!
Lalit, this is amazing!!! I'm so happy to hear about all the progress that you've made. Great work! It is moving for me as well to read what you've wrote. It's so incredible to hear that you are slowly getting your health and life back. Your beautiful message and update on your progress has made my week 0 thank you so much for taking the time (and energy and courage) to share it and I'm excited to hear about your progress moving forward! 💛
@@RaelanAgle Glad to read your reply! I'll surely share about any change in my health and my thoughts around it. thanks!
@@lalitupadhyay9271 i do'nt know you but am pleased to hear of your progress. I am also incorporating grounding into my routine ( barefoot beach walks at dawn) and it is having a positive effect. I normalised my circadian rhythm using a light box, and now wake up just before dawn every day. I also started a probiotic that was developed by scientists especially for people with long covid, although i have cfs, not long covid. The probiotic is called yourgutplus. I think grounding naturally , plus using early morning light( or lightbox) to balance circadian rhythms is a really important part of the puzzle. I wish you a full recovery.
I adored this interview! I completely resonated about the brain training programmes...i have been helped hugely by the brain training programme I did but I platued the past few months and have changed my approach to be flexible with it and concentrate on bringing joy to my life rather than waiting till I'm 'fully recovered'. There is too much emphasis on only full recovery in this space and yes of course we want this...but there can be years until we get there and the pressure of the final goal can be just too much and unnecessary sometimes.
💓💓💓
Great comment, so true
I try to keep it simple
Just live life and do things that make you feel happy inside.
What James said at the end was so meaningful and exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much James
Credit to James for finding recovery and using his experience to help others. I particularly resonated with his points around identity, balance, and letting go of perfectionism and showing vulnerability. Thanks again Raelan for running this channel and surfacing great interviews. Matt x
Thanks so much Matt - really appreciate your kind words and glad that you resonated with many of the themes :). Speak soon!
A lovely interview. I'm going to try his free brain training course as sadly, I can't afford the 6 week course. Losing your identity as a person I can relate to as this illness does strip you of your self confidence and self esteem. Currently experiencing regular flare ups so am going to rest, rest, rest and build up to my baseline gradually..having this illness is a full time job and trying to recover from it is also a full time job. We must never give up hope!
Try what u think will work . Find ways of doing things that don’t tax u so much .. I found one out by accident & not on any sites . It was a life hack .. Use a flannel instead of a Towel . When I read it I thought we’ll that’s not going to work !? EH !!! A flannel .. So I tried it ! More for the hell of it really ! … but starting on my legs & Arms towards my Heart . It dries off the excess water ! & when I reached for my bath towel I really didn’t need it that much !!! & the best part is … I’m not so tired afterward !!! Because it DOSENT take so much energy ! The flannels r very light weight ! … I think the life hack was meant to be that we don’t need lots of Towels hanging around .. Eish I had known this when I had all my kids at home ! lol good luck blessings xxx
Such a warmth inspiring interview! I can relate a lot to the idea that pushing yourself from the chronic fatigue doesn't help. Did that for many years and things were just worsening. Surrendering, self acceptance, self love, solving trauma, getting to know your nervuos system patterns was a path to my healing..
❤️❤️❤️
I feel like this is so true,
If you can say to youre self
I’m going to live my life with or without this, and I’m okay about it. That’s is true healing
Thank you both so much. I have enrolled in James' rewiring class and am looking for that softer personalized approach, having not succeeded with two of the 'big' programs.
james has a lovely vibe. i have enrolled on his newsletter, and may do his programme. i was unsuccessful on LP as my brain would just not accept the technique.
Do you mean ANS rewire as one of the “big programs”? If so can I ask why it didn’t work?
Fantastic interview,thank you both of you. I have just tried James’ free brain training exercise and LOVED it. James, you are clearly going to be a huge gift and marvelous addition to the CFS healing community. Heartfelt appreciation to you.
Hi Dave - thank you so much for your kind words, really appreciate it and so glad that you are enjoying the brain retraining :). Take care and speak soon. James
Oh god is he right about not being understood !!! Ppl
Think u pick n choose what who u will do be with . I try to do all of it & at the moment I’m
Not having to work / not able but fear the future .. This needs more awareness ! Ppl say everyone gets tired & now I’m 60 it’s my age ! .. Thanks for still being here !! From bottom of my heart .
I need motivational something now . PS I listened to the woman who tried Protein Powder . I’m in 10 days now & im
Reporting it HAS made a difference as in some days I can’t nap !!!!!! So it’s working .. plus I have Ddd & other things which hamper my recovery Xxx
I loved this interview so much! I can relate to everything you said. I needed this as kind of a confirmation of how I've been feeling lately!
💓💓💓
Thank you so much for your channel! I am so thankful you are keeping it up even after returning to work. I think I’ve watched all of your videos. What struck me about this interview as James was describing his recovery, was it reminded me of when someone has a stroke. They have to slowly get back their ability to do what they used to how they used to do it. With ME/CFS, it’s as if the mechanism for producing energy and recovering from exertion got damaged. Now we have to slowly and gently rehab that ability just like a stroke patient. I am looking forward to doing graded exercise how you’ve suggested it in other videos after I move to a one story home in a couple months. I’m confident that this will be helpful. Many blessings to you, and thank you again for all your caring and thoughtful ways to share your Journey and your knowledge.
Wow, james has such wonderful insight. I resonate so much. Such an inspiring interview.
Thank you, Deion! 💓
Great hearing from James’ wisdom and his experience. My favorite interview. Thankyou!
💓💓💓
Great interview thanks Raelan and James! 👍 so much of James’s recovery experience resonated with mine-the lack of understanding and compassion for what you’re going through, adapting brain training to a more personal approach and acknowledging that things you tried that didn’t seem to work actually all had a part to play and was somehow necessary to get you where you needed to be. I am on my 3rd bout of cfs so can also relate to how devastating it is to get it again but i also know recovery is possible and i can see how falling back into old unhelpful patterns and behaviours combined with unavoidable stressful life events is what opened the door to its return x i will recover again but i hope i’ve learned enough to avoid it coming back again x thanks for these videos Raelan ❤️
I know how hard it is to bounce back again like that so it's amazing that you've had the resilience to be on that path again - I'm sure that previous experience will serve you so well with your belief and understanding of yourself. Thanks so much for sharing! James
What a wonderful interview. Thank you so so much. It gave me hope on an especially bad day.
I'm so pleased it landed at a good time for you Doris. Sending lots of love - keep that hope :)
@@themindbodyman Thank you so much James
Another great, helpful interview! THANKS
The discussion about vulnerability and the need for flexibility day to day brought up one of my great challenges - making commitments.
I’m unsure how I’ll feel in the next days or weeks. I want to be a part of life and people as much as possible, but the common experience of CFS is that others don’t understand how we can be ok one day and bed bound the next.
I would love to see a video about how people have navigated making and keeping commitments with such variable functioning.
Thanks tremendously for what you do!
I
Hi Raelan, thank you so much for this interview and all that you do for ME/CfS sufferers. I just tried James’ free brain retraining exercise and had an immediate albeit small decrease in symptoms! I really appreciate you connecting us with others who can offer different pieces to the healing puzzle 💕
yay! I am so glad you found it helpful Chandra - thank you for sharing. James
I like his comments on brain retraining.
💓💓💓
Great interview, I just rewound and watched again straight away. So helpful and the idea of not taking recovery so seriously but building it into your overall lifestyle really resonated ❤️
Glad you liked the video, Kathryn! 💓💓💓
This is just so great, thank you for sharing! Love your approach to redefining 'full recovery' and encouraging maximizing your life right where you are. So encouraging and also reminded me not to be striving to get to a certain place where I think I will be happy.
💓💓💓
I am that guy who tried to return to a similar level of activity after 12 years of recovering only to suffer a big relapse = a real nightmare.
Thanks for your videos …..they still give me some hope despite this.
Richard, I'm so sorry to hear that you've been dealing with this for so long. I hope you find all your puzzles pieces and can finally put this all behind you soon
Cannot tell you how much this resonated with me today. Made me feel a lot less alone with what I'm feeling right now ! Thank you both 💗💗
💓💓💓
Thank you both. All your comments resonated with me. I also found brain retraining a chore that played on my achiever parts so agree that it should be done in a relaxed way. There are some excellent aspects of the training but I agree you need to find which bits help you. A lovely interview….. I’m still pretty unwell so not grateful at all for this illness 😝
I’m curious to know what work you both did on your identity (because I feel I lost mine).
Hey Tammy! I did a lot of work on my values and stripping back and identifying all the things that bring my joy that I can still embody in imperfect health - that helped a lot and gave me direction too! Hope that helps :)
Loved this interview ! ´this journey is also rethinking your identity ´and rebuilding a new one..
We can’t go back to who we were.. we needed this complete transformation to become healthy and more in balance !
Thanks to both of you for sharing this inspiring story and insights !
🙏🌺❤️
Thank you, Inge 💓💓💓
Fantastic interview. Helped me so much!
Great episode! I really live James' approach. It resonates with me deeply. Brain retraining programs are often very top-down. And, really anxiety producing. I prefer people meet me where I am at. I know my needs and they are highly specific. I think health coaches are a better route for some of us.
Like*
Very wise and timely. Like his approach. Very insightful.
Ps Raelan, I have just bought your book and I'm currently reading it. It's terrific. Makes a great partner to your RUclips videos. Also helping me to think more about the things that I'm not doing but need to.
Thank you so much, Judith! I appreciate it 💓
What a lovely dude.
Great interview thank you Raelan 😊 🙏
💓💓💓
Thankyou both 💓 a very informative interview.
you're very welcome Jane - glad you enjoyed it :)
Thank you James and Raglan, just found your channel. I'm just starting my journey with ME/CFS at 22 years old and am looking for inspiration. Thank you
My experience is in line with Raelan's comment that sometimes "relapses" happen and you have to bring yourself back. Sometimes it feels like a bit of an addiction to me, not to pathologize it in another way, but I think the framework can be useful. Stressful activities can have a certain pull because achieving is exciting - stress is stimulating, caffeine pumps you up. Healthy routine can be a bit dull in comparison, as can all the other well regulated activities. I think that's where the importance of fun and joy come in, because those things can be stimulating and fulfilling in a grounded, healthy way. Thanks for helping me put that distinction into words.
And thanks as well to James. My body communicates very well too and I know it requires a lot of awareness and balance.
Thank you, wow James such an amazing story of healing and growth. I resonated so much with all of it 🙏
❤️❤️❤️
This interview has really resonated with me. I first became ill at the age of 10, but as James said, no one in the NHS really knew what was going on at the time. My parents were told it was neurological and that it may return if I ever got a viral illness again. I was ‘well’ until I was 46 and then, due to the perfect storm, I became ill again. I completely relate to being an overachiever, perfectionist, people pleaser etc and I now recognise how much stress I took on that wasn’t really mine to internalise. I’ve had ME/CFS for over 6 years now and am still trying to find a balance that will keep me well. Thank you Raelan and James.
Thank you ! ☀️
💓💓💓
My CFS lasted 6 months. I found it was from cervical instability &&& a loss of the C curve in my neck. Those 2 things caused my jugular vein and Vagus nerve to be pinched off. Caring medical in Florida is fixing me. GLTA
That's great that you're on the mend, man. How did you get the cervical instability and loss of C curve diagnosed, please?
@@__OL__ a cervical spine MRI should diagnose it or even a cervical x ray. Check with a radiologist in your area or doctor.
This was great! Thank you so much! It was interesting to hear opinion of someone who has tried multiple different Brain training programs.
Glad you enjoyed it, Joni! 💓💓💓
i feel like you did brain retraining in your own way raelan from what ive watched in your videos, your thought catching, visualisation meditations and journaling that you do are pretty similar to the brain retraining im doing
Isn’t he lovely 😊
He is! 💓
Follow James on insta. Love his real, vulnerable approach and mindset to healing. He's an inspiration ✨️
💓💓💓
This was great! Thank you
❤️❤️❤️
We are squeezing every ounce of hope from these reflections. PLEASE do not make them shorter. Less time = less hope.
💖💖💖
To be bed bound for two years solid at that age must be frightening
It wasn't the best time, I'll admit David! Very scary, isolating and a real sense of helplessness - but I was also very fortunate to have parents who wouldn't give up getting to the root of what was happening when I couldn't!
@@themindbodyman my parent's unfortunately trusted the doctors more than Internet 😂 to be fair that was 1995 lol Nintendo 64 an all that 😂
Hi Raelan, did any of your guests discuss struggles with candida and or IBS? Any recommendations?
Raelan (and others) suggest eating tons of natural probiotics (kefir, kombucha, saurkraut etc) rather than taking probiotic supplements. The probiotics really help the gut problems. My mom and i both have IBS and probiotics stopped her diarhhea and also stopped my constipation
You have to be careful with probiotics and fermented foods when you have candida as it can aggravate it/feed it. An anti candida diet is a great way to get rid of candida...I follow one now. Also ozone therapy helped me a bit too 😊 I have been able to start back on probiotics the last couple of months but fermented foods are still a no go....but you can test it yourself...you'll know if it's too much for your stomach. I cleared up my IBS with eliminating foods that caused it...in my case that was gluten and dairy. Stress also flared it up for me too.
Unless you're having actual yeast infections or oral thrush etc, my understanding is that candida is just an easy scapegoat or preoccupation that deflects the mind from looking at what really holds the host of symptoms in place - which is the nervous system. A lot of these vague concepts (mold, candida, food intolerances etc) can be easy to hang on to but are difficult to test for, so they're easy pins for symptoms. If we go deeper, nervous system dysregulation can cause a whole host of symptoms, including digestive symptoms, and dysregulation of all kinds of bodily processes. If nervous system dysregulation is the cause, then lifestyle changes, meditation, yoga, trauma healing, and brain-retraining are some places to consider starting.
It's really hard to get anything from this it's so vague. Did anything work or not work? The answer seems to be everything both did and didn't help. And it didn't sound like recovery it sound slowly very very tentative living. I hope for everyone that a greater level of recovery is met then that.
Thanks where can we find james free course ?
❤️🙏❤️
💓💓💓
Did you get antidepressants?
cfs not Me
Whilst this guy is very eloquent and seems lovely, this is not recovery or healing. This is accepting your disability and working within your means not health. He has not recovered he has adjusted and tried to put his body is a self healing space. I’m glad he is better but don’t oversell this please
I think both did an amazing and nuanced job at honestly capturing things in a humble way. James had severe ME and now leads a wonderful full and active life now. I'd see it as embracing ones self and living a life of balance. The idea that only people who are 100 percent always never a symptom should share their story of healing and recovery is missing out on so many wonderful insights. Yes, it's possible to live a life free of limitations and symptoms (there are people who state "full" recovery). However, the 100% better label and target for people with achiever personalities creates more stress that isn't helpful for healing. Please consider that and that people who share their stories put their hearts out there, so please don't minimize someone.
@@HealwithLiz Its really hard to get the nuance here as he doesnt talk too much about his current capacity, other than he has a meaningful life? It would be really helpful to know what that actually means for future interviews. I know you are trying to inspire people and im not trying to shoot you down, sorry if it came accross that way. I think a great question to understand what is happening for people who say they are 'recovered' in ways that other people can understand is can you physicaly and mentaly do a lot of the things you could do, by spending most of the productive hours of the day using some form of mental or physical energy? Its great that you dont wizz around doing 2342342 million things and that change is probably the only positive that ME can bring us in our lives - but I guess I struggle to fully understand something like "can you work and go home and cook and shower and make your bed and see a friend and go to sleep and wake up" because thats a normal, non-stressed life. Or is it "I can do a lot less but im at peace with that". I know its really hard to ask and answer those question but I think exploring it with people would really help. Thank you I appreciate you trying to help people suffering from this god awful nightmare
@@siobhanchristine-bligh183 Aye. I do know/follow James so do have a sense of his full active meaningful life, and can understand why you might have assumed the worst since he didn't note his physical and mental benchmarks. Raelan seems to discuss 'life now' with all her guests -- it's actually an easy question to ask and answer. However, I can understand why James made the choice to not provide physical and mental capacity benchmarks, since previously that's where he measured his success and if he had a symptom, etc. it made him feel like a failure. And I can see why he wants to model that to other achiever types out there, where he places his value in himself on a deeper level.
What's fascinating is that the people who I know who healed from severe ME -- many of their turning points came when they learned to find joy and meaning in their life and value and accept themselves vs focusing on "fighting to get better / fix symptoms because then I'll be happy." Nevertheless, I do want to honor that it's a lot lot harder to do that if you can't take care of your basic needs.
Anyway -- the two things that are tough to hear when sharing your story are "you're disabled just thinking positively" or on the complete opposite end "you never had ME" ... but a really appreciate your honesty and discussion here, because I think other people had your similar question and we're all in this / out of this together. Sending you my support
@@HealwithLiz i do hear what you are saying. For me I was a high achiever but there were lots of activities that were deeply rooted in my physical sexual and mental health life, mainly rock climbing. Without that I am lesser than who I was because it was a source of utter joy. So if I recover a benchmark like that would be something I would discuss, but I also used to have an insane job digging up landmines and I will never go back to wanting to do stressful stuff like that and I don’t consider it a failure. So I guess it’s those sort of questions around a functional sense that I have. I have the Long Covid me/CFS and I’m pretty adamant it’s an autoimmune condition, so that’s my main treatment Avenue (working well with CBD and LDN) and at the moment I am resisting brain stuff until I feel I can cope. Thanks again
@@siobhanchristine-bligh183 Wow landmines, what an interesting life experience! I understand about the rock climbing tied to meaning etc. in life (my best friend enjoys that). Here are some interviews that might help. My one big takeaway though is that brain retraining stuff only works when you're fully ready and explored other options first. I went deep into the medical route / supplement etc for 2 years, and got what I needed from it... it also had its drawbacks, and then found brain stuff when I had tried everything and was ready.
1. Matt's (Matthew butler) on his Long Covid recovery on Raelan's channel -- note what he did before brain stuff. Really good insights from someone who initially seemed skeptical about the brain retraining.
2. Luke on Raelan's channel and pacing stuff with Pamela Rose.
3. My interview with Carly, an adventure athlete rock climber person. And how for her it was about nervous system regulation and also acceptance. She didn't do the future visualization brain retraining stuff. Go to my blog for our interview transcript, video, and resource links. (Note: the Wim Hoff breathing she did I hear can be a challenge for people in severe/moderate states.) She has a great free website of what worked for her.
4. My interview with Katie -- who biohacked her way out (the nervous system was a key component but so were other lifestyle and diet stuff). She did ANS Rewire.
5. My interview with Astra (just changed her name to Lorelai) who talks about brain retraining and her speciality of finding joy -- her instagram handle is yayneuroplasticity and she has another handle queerneuroplasticity.
It seems like James just shared a free resource too for consideration to dip your toes in the water. :)
It’s all worry and Stress, even if wer’e not aware of it ! Myself, and my two daughters have had it for years and years. (Wer’e, is spelt we’re ! Just brain fog! )
Great interview, I just rewound and watched again straight away. So helpful and the idea of not taking recovery so seriously but building it into your overall lifestyle really resonated ❤️
💓💓💓