RECOVERY AT A GLANCE
Hannah had just graduated from an architecture degree when she became ill suddenly on 3 October 2020. She was diagnosed with post-viral fatigue and, after several months, her GP said it sounded like CFS, possibly caused by COVID-19. The chronic fatigue clinic also considered COVID likely, although she had never been eligible for a test at illness onset. At her worst, severe fatigue, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, screen sensitivity, anxiety and episodes of shortness of breath left her unable to reach the bottom of her garden, cook or shop for herself, and she moved back to her parents’ home.
Hannah started ANS REWIRE on 1 June 2021, about eight months after becoming ill and shortly after a major setback. She reports good changes within about two weeks and broader social improvement within the first month. By the end of August, around three months in, she could take 30-minute walks without symptoms and felt really well recovered, although she did not yet consider herself fully recovered. After a Germany trip at around four months she estimated herself at 85–90% recovered; she began full-time architecture work on 1 November, five months after starting, and described herself as fully well at around six months.
Explore This ANS REWIRE Recovery Experience
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This page shares one participant’s personal experience with ANS REWIRE. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. ANS REWIRE is an educational and training program and is not medical treatment or a substitute for diagnosis, advice or care from a qualified healthcare professional.
Watch The Video of Hannah Sharing Her ANS REWIRE Experience
Video Transcript:
From Architecture Graduate to Severe Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome
Hi, my name is Hannah, and I want to share my experience with the ANS REWIRE program, which really, really helped me to reach full recovery from chronic fatigue in just a few months. I'm from Leicester in the UK, and I'm when I became ill, I'd just graduated from an architecture degree.
Symptoms after Viral Illness
My, my key symptoms were definitely fatigue, and that was both physical and mental, and at my worst, I couldn't even walk to the bottom of my garden.
It was really, really scary, and I would get a lot of anxiety and panic attacks because I just didn't know when I was going to get better, and nothing was helping me, and, the doctors didn't seem to have any ideas, and it was just, I was just looking for answers really. So I was ill for about eight or nine months before I started the program, and then it took me another three months to reach my full recovery.
When I became ill I was living with my best friend in the beautiful city of York and was looking for jobs, but unfortunately, because I wasn't able to cook for myself anymore, I wasn't able to do the food shop, I did have to move back with my symptoms. So it was like a very life changing experience for me.
So besides the fatigue, I also suffered with headaches, I had sensitivity to screens, so I couldn't even watch TV, um, during my worst period of illness. And insomnia was a really key symptom as well. So no matter what I did, I just wouldn't be able to get to sleep before like 6 in the morning. Which was, apart from anything else, it was also a very isolating experience.
Diagnosis Uncertainty and Limited Support
I was diagnosed quite early on with post viral fatigue, and then there was some, issues with getting a diagnosis because the chronic fatigue clinic didn't want to take me because they said it was long COVID and the long COVID waiting lists were really long and I had never had a test at the time of getting ill.
So, I think that also added to the anxiety I had because I didn't have a specific diagnosis and I didn't get much professional help from the health system.
Why Hannah Changed Her Mind About Recovery Programs
So, leading up to the program, I had already tried quite a variety of things to help me get well with, um, varying levels of success. So, in terms of enrolling to ANS Rewire, I did have quite a few hesitations.
Whenever I saw brain training programs suggested on Facebook, I never even had a look because I just assumed that they were scams. I, I just assumed that they were trying to take advantage of people who are ill. I didn't understand how they would be able to help. But once I saw an interview with Dan, hearing him talk about the program and how he had developed it, it really, it really helped me.
It suddenly resonated with me, and I built up a lot of trust that this actually might be able to help. So, I watched the, first four videos, which were free, and they all made a lot of sense, and I made the decision to commit to the program, and a real key thing was actually committing to the program.
Early Improvement Within Weeks
So, I decided to I started on the first of the month. I think that helped me. And I decided I was going to keep up and try and watch a video every day. And if I didn't manage that, try and watch one every two days. Yes, when I did my first symptom questionnaire, it showed that my symptoms were really severe, and They were quite life limiting, they were really limiting my social life, as well as I couldn't even think about work at all.
It wasn't even on my radar, but within a month I'd already seen like, good improvement and it was already a lot easier to socialise with my friends, stay on calls with them for longer, or invite them round to my garden. So, um, I think seeing such strong improvement within that amount of time just gave me a lot of confidence in the program and what I was doing.
I can't go into everything here, but the, the dietary advice was really key for me as well as the meditation advice and the brain retraining, particularly around exercise. And after two months, I was really starting to feel like I was getting some kind of normality back and having to rest a lot less.
From 3-Month Recovery Milestone to Full Recovery
So, about a year on, I was fully recovered and this actually happened to correlate with the time that I went to visit my brother in Germany. So I was well enough to travel abroad, which I was really worried I wouldn't be able to do. And I was quite nervous for this holiday. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with everyone or that my symptoms would come back, but I managed to explore several new cities.
And. be fine physically and not even feel mentally overwhelmed. And it was very exciting. If I did ever have a couple of low days, I would just remind myself of what I'd learned in the program. And when I would recover again from having a really tired couple of days, it would just give me even more confidence that I had the tools I needed to be well and stay well.
Soon after I got back from that trip, I was lucky enough to get a full time job. And I moved out of my parents house, and it all happened so quickly, and I never expected to have a part time job by that time, and suddenly I was living independently again, visiting friends on the weekend, and, yeah. And also, happier than I had been before I got ill, because, um, the program really helped me with my anxiety levels as well.
So, just over a year after I got ill, , four months after I'd started the program, I was able to work full time for the first time, my first full time job and live independently again. And I could hardly believe it had happened that quickly. So overall, I would very much highly recommend this program.
It is incredibly well designed and thought through. Dan has had first hand experience with the users, illnesses and so he can really coach you through it and he understands what it's like to be really low on energy or, really in pain and how limiting that can be and how disheartening that can be.
But yeah, it's a great holistic program that combines everything to help you recover. And I really hope that as many people can find out about it as possible because it really helped me so much.
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