Physical health · Sanctum

Chronic pain and crushing fatigue

Widespread pain, and a tiredness that sleep does not fix. Maybe a label of fibromyalgia, ME or post-viral fatigue, maybe no label at all, just a body that aches and a tank that never refills.

This kind of pain and fatigue runs strongly through the same group, and it is rarely random. A body with bendy joints, an unsteady nervous system and a reactive immune response is a body under constant low-level strain, and pain and exhaustion are what that strain feels like from the inside.

Because each symptom is treated on its own, the thread connecting them, and connecting them to the brain, is missed, and people are left feeling they are simply not coping, when their system is genuinely working harder than most.

We look at pain and fatigue in the context of the whole picture, because they are so often the body’s part of it. None of this is a diagnosis, and we are not here to replace your other doctors. It is what we explore with you.

Written by Dr Asad RaffiConsultant Psychiatrist · Founder & Medical Director