Healing from ME: the importance of other factors as well as the ME Diagnosis

I have just written a series of articles about coming to terms with an ME diagnosis: the beginning stage of an illness where an ME diagnosis can be affirming, the period of adjusting to the diagnosis, and then finally the opportunity to transcend the ME diagnosis and move into a space of greater wellness and wholeness.

And it struck me that in terms of the way I work with energy healing and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), the actual ME diagnosis is in some ways really important, and in many other ways not nearly as important as some other factors.

When I see people who are suffering from this debilitating condition, I always ask them to complete a questionnaire about their symptoms, their lifestyle, their childhood, the major stresses in their lives, and the things that were happening in their lives prior to becoming ill.

Whilst fatigue is obviously always a major and most likely the major symptom, the other symptoms are quite varied. For some people, the illness can manifest as a lot of pain in the joints. Others can have difficulty sleeping, despite being always tired. For others, the problem can be a brain “fog” and inability to concentrate and remember things.

And what I call the “energetic patternings” can also be quite different. So, for some people, there can be a pattern of not being totally present in the body, for others there can be a strong pattern of control and “keeping down” emotions, and for others there can be a general “sluggishness” that is often reflected in digestive problems. I have written more extensively in other articles. (Please note there is no criticism or judgement intended here: I actually carried all these patterns myself when i was ill to differing degrees.)

So, being aware of these types of typical patternings can be really important as a “background” to working with people with this condition. However, each person’s healing journey plays out quite differently from anyone else’s healing journey, and, whilst there are very often strong parallels and things that people have in common, energy healing and the Emotional Freedom Technique are able to create a framework or structure for everyone’s healing process to unfold exactly as it needs to for them.

I will give some concrete examples. It is often the case that a ongoing condition such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME is preceded by some kind of traumatic event or ongoing stressful situation. In my case, it was a virus that didn’t go away that was the immediate “trigger.” Deeper than this was the fact that I was working very hard at something that my heart wasn’t in….and actually at another layer I had been working hard for many years in what I now consider to be quite an unbalanced way.

For other people, there is typically some kind of viral infection that leads to the onset of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME. And the underlying “reasons” can be events such as a relationship breakup, bereavement, being in a job that is draining and unappealing, or the ongoing stress of having a full and busy life.

Once these “events” and “reasons” have been understood, the healing journey with energy healing and the Emotional Freedom Technique can unfold differently. For me, there was a lot of inner child work (going back in time to release painful, stuck emotions), a lot of sound healing work (to reconnect me with my inner, authentic voice) and a lot of belief work with the Emotional Freedom Technique (around, “I can never get better”, “nobody can help me” “I am always tired no matter what I do” – which I believe are quite common with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME.

For other people, there may be past life healings to clear ancestral patterns that are held deep within the energy field and psyche, there may be EFT to help with genetically held aspects of the condition, and there may be beautiful light healings of grace, where the old conditioned unhelpful patterns that are held in the body just “melt” away.

For me then, as an energy healer, it is just as important to hear someone’s story, and to find the most appropriate way of moving through the emotions held in the body and energy field as to know that that person has an ME diagnosis, and the disease we call chronic fatigue syndrome / ME. The framework of energy healing and EFT then allows each person’s process to unfold as it needs to.

If you’ve read this and you have an ME diagnosis, or think you may have ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, then take a look at my main website where I talk about the work I do with people suffering from this debilitating condition, and the offer I make of a complimentary ME Discovery session.