After 5 years of trial and error with things I’d hoped would cure my ME/CFS, I found myself bedbound, horribly sick with constant flu-like symptoms and intensely fatigued. I was at my rock bottom. I knew if I didn’t make major changes at that point it wasn’t worth going on. 

Using the four areas of mind body therapy described below – lifestyle and pacing, brain retraining, somatic bodywork and self discovery work – is how I overcame chronic fatigue syndrome. It took a few years, a great deal of patience, hard work and lots of cozy rest before I could do everything I used to do. I’m now at a place where I love my life more than before!

All the mind body therapy techniques presented below focus on the same three goals that are key to recovery from CFS. They either 

1. Calm the bodily systems
2. Release built up pressure, stored toxins and emotions from the body
3. Strengthen bodily systems and build resilience (eg. in the nervous system, limbic system, gut)

Achieving these three goals by using activities from the areas of mind body healing described below creates resiliency against inevitable stressors and leads to sustainable recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome.

Modern society is fixated on achieving visible and capitalistic goals that unfortunately do not always match with what our bodies need. We sometimes forget our value is not in what we achieve, but rather who we are. For hundreds of thousands of years we lived in small communities, worked maybe 4-5 hours a day, ate natural foods and slept when it was dark. There was plenty of routine and boredom, and no electronics or cell phones to zone out on. Adopting a lifestyle similar to that of our ancestors can help with recovery from CFS.

The lifestyle and pacing actions described below are seemingly simple and straightforward, but I’m very aware of how hard they can be to actually implement. Be gentle with yourself, and remember to take healing one step at a time. You can’t do everything at once! 

Let’s start with the power of routine in calming the nervous system. 

For those of us who lacked structure growing up, having some consistency in our days can be difficult to maintain. I didn’t grow up with a lot of structure and by telling myself I wasn’t able to keep a routine, I was subconsciously living in fear of failure and holding myself back. 

With practice and determination, I discovered I could establish a daily routine, follow supplement regimes, eliminate troublesome food and shed the negative self image I had formed in my head. For me, routine was about building trust with myself and providing a sense of safety for my nervous system – a way of telling it “I will care for you now, let me prove it”. 

A lot of the mind body practices that can help require consistency. They will not work if you just do them for a few days. For that reason having a sense of routine is highly recommended. 

For those who did have very structured childhoods, and don’t find routine challenging, it can still be a key element to recovery from ME/CFS. These individuals often need to allow plenty of flexibility and time for freedom in their day and really pay attention to the strictness with which they speak to themselves. If freedom is what your system is craving, be careful not to be so strict with your daily routines in healing that you feel militant. Practice being kind with yourself when things don’t go as planned and think of ways to make healing activities fun.

Remember that humans also thrive on new activities. These are an important piece  of how the brain changes. Therefore a mix of routine (morning and evening work best for most) as well as spontaneity is important. 

There is a strong link between the gut and the brain. Improving gut health can help calm your nervous system. And using mind body therapy to regulate your nervous system can help calm your gut.

Having a nutrient rich diet, and avoiding foods that make you feel worse is a great first step to calming and strengthening the body. When I first had ME/CFS, I had been a vegetarian for 10 years. Not one who ate healthily, but one who only ate cheese for protein! I now understand that, along with low iron and B12, I likely had very low amino acids and lacked many other vital nutrients. These were all factors that added up to my unhealthy gut and inevitable illness. 

By giving our systems the nutrients they need we can set our body up for success in other areas. I personally found that when I drastically upped my vegetable intake and cut out things that made me feel bloated or fatigued (gluten, dairy and processed sugar), I started to notice small improvements in my energy levels over time. 

Having good quality sleep can be essential to healing. People with chronic fatigue syndrome often struggle with falling asleep, staying asleep or both. These sleep problems have to do with imbalances in cortisol and adrenaline and when they are being released in the body.

We start pacing by establishing our baseline (what we can do without feeling worse in the next few days) and working up slowly from there.

For me, I find it usually takes about 3 times of doing a little extra output above baseline before my body is used to this new level of activity. There will be “adjustment periods” before the new baseline is reached, but it is important not to stress about symptoms. I also used to set walking goals when I would increase my baseline to keep the process enjoyable. For example, I would walk to the nearest dog park or to a neighbours house who had a dog I could pet.

Goals and rewards are a wonderful way to keep your mindset positive and avoid getting into a mindset of fear. Remember that the fear itself negatively impacts the nervous system, so even if you are pacing slowly, if you are doing it with fear, you may still be over stressing the nervous system. 

If you are struggling to master pacing check out Raelan Agle’s free online course or the affordable group programs by Pamela Rose.

Brain retraining is packaged mindset work that has also been called limbic system retraining or amygdala retraining. It is based on the principles of neuroplasticity (our ability to change our brain using thoughts and actions). 

Brain retraining is considered a “top down” approach because people focus on their thoughts. Whilst somatic bodywork (discussed in the next section) is referred to as “bottom up” because somatic exercises help people focus on the sensations they experience in their body. Ultimately the goal of both these mind body therapies is to help calm the body and rebuild a strong nervous system.  

For a deeper understanding of neuroplasticity science check out this article or read The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doige. 

I did DNRS (dynamic neural retraining system) in 2018. After six months of regular practice, I had gone from being able to take about 1000 steps to 8000 steps. This improvement showed me that neuroplasticity could indeed be an effective technique for healing.

Unfortunately, I had another two huge crashes after this. Brain retraining didn’t protect me from the effects of a medication change, a mould exposure or a period of social isolation. I still needed to add techniques from the other areas of mind body therapy to achieve a robust recovery.

I have written an in depth guide to brain retraining answering common questions and discussing the best brain retraining programs for CFS.

Brain retraining can be controversial – learn about the criticisms here

Somatic bodywork is about building connection with our bodies and using our bodies rather than our brains to foster healing. Many of us have lost the connection with our body as we are in our heads all the time. We loose the capacity to regulate our bodily sensations when triggers arise. 

One theory that involves somatic body work as a healing tool is polyvagal theory by Dr Stephen Porges. Polyvagal states that through body based exercises, we can help the nervous system shift from “fight or flight” to “safe and social” or from “freeze” to “safe and social”. 

Another relevant theory is that traumatic events or unresolved emotions can become trapped in the body. These feelings and disconnects negatively affect a person’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Somatic-bodywork techniques can be used to release pent up tension. Some examples include breathwork, meditation, lymphatic drainage, TRE (trauma release exercises) and vagus nerve exercises like cold water therapy, humming, eye exercises and somatic experiencing.

I personally found the work of Peter Levine helpful. His method of somatic experiencing is a form of trauma work which utilises somatic bodywork in order to help us heal from our traumas. For me having a regular somatic calming activity of body scanning, as well as strengthening vagus nerve practices such as humming, singing, and eye exercises produced noticeable results over time. Now, when I start to feel my nervous system activating, I can harness one of these activities and instantly feel my nervous system switch modes. 

Somatic bodywork can take months of practice before your body builds up the ability to change states easily. Just like with regular exercise, it takes time for our nervous system to build strength and for us to become in tune with our bodily systems.

Programs that focus primarily on somatic bodywork include those by Irene Lyon as well as Sarah Jackson’s program Restore.

I’m aware that it can feel frustrating and repellent even, to be told that your physical illness can be helped through self-discovery work. I remember early in my illness I heard a woman speak about curing her ME/CFS by finding her purpose. This sounded ridiculous at the time. A few years later, a friend who is a councilor, told me I had a trauma illness. I could not even imagine that being true at the time. My childhood wasn’t so bad! 

Now I appreciate the benefits of self discovery work and understand how finding purpose and dealing with traumas can be helpful in recovery from CFS (both have helped me).

My journey with self-discovery work started when I read the work of Dr Gabor Mate and Dr John Sarno. Dr Gabor Mate describes the personality types (based in trauma) of those who tend to get chronic illnesses. I fit perfectly into the stereotypical characteristics.

I also learned about how many small T traumas (small situations where our emotional needs were not met that add up over time) can impact our health. You don’t need to have had a big T trauma (like an accident) to have lasting effects in your body. More and more proof of epigenetic changes due to childhood adversities and the link to chronic illness is emerging. For an in depth exploration of this topic check out The Myth of Normal by Gabor and Daniel Maté. 

As a people pleaser, “a goodist”, an achiever, and someone who represses emotions when stressful things happen, reading the work of these authors helped me understand why my body was likely storing so much pressure that had built up over the years. When I practiced trauma healing activities I started getting results and really noticed a shift in my energy increasing. 

In addition to looking at the past, learning to live authentically brings our nervous system comfort and a sense of safety. If we don’t have a vision of where our life is going our nervous system may not feel safe and it can be difficult to heal. Starting to visualise our future, and taking small actions towards making it happen can be a powerful tool for ME/CFS recovery. This is a significant trend I’ve seen with people who have recovered. Incorporating their passions with their recovery and growing the two together seems to be a common trend. 

Self-discovery tools that I’ve found helpful include values-work (Brene Brown has some great worksheets), journal speak by Nicole Sachs, somatic experiencing created by Peter Levine, and IFS (internal family systems) created by Dr Richard Schwartz (also known as parts work). 

Online recovery programs that look at the self discovery piece of healing, include Primal Trust, CFS School and Be Your Own Medicine.

Healing using mind body therapy takes dedication. Chronic fatigue syndrome is like a puzzle, it takes work and time to find the right approaches for you. Sometimes this means making hard life changes. Try to see the many opportunities for healing as exciting experiments instead of daunting.  Approach your healing with a curious mindset where you have the power to choose what to try rather than a desperate to be saved mindset. This alone creates a sense of calm in the nervous system.

All of the mind body practices above have been instrumental in my personal healing journey. For me, there have been many little changes that added up to full recovery from CFS. Know that if you can calm, release pressure and build resilience in your nervous system, you will not only be healed, but soon, you will truly thrive. 

Please note that mind body healing methods presented here are not a replacement for medical advice. There are some health issues that require medical care and you should always consult your doctor about trying new things. 

• Concerns about brain retraining
• Brain retraining questions answered

For recovery support services, program guidance and coaching.

Lindsayvine.com

Myself and Liz Carlson have created an in-depth Online CFS Recovery Programs Guide It provides a comprehensive look at 25 pacing and nervous system regulation programs, including ones mentioned in this article.

When I began learning about mind body therapy I found these books really helpful.

Breaking Free – Jan Rothney

The Body Keeps The Score – Dr Bessel van der Kolk 

When the Body Says No – Dr Gabor Maté

The Myth of Normal – Dr Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté 

Atomic Habits – James Clear 

The Mindbody Prescription – Dr John Sarno

No Bad Parts – Dr. Richard Schwartz

Real Life – Sharon Salzberg 

I host a popular recovery podcast called Post Viral where I interview world renowned experts in different healing modalities. The episodes listed below will give you a deep dive into some of the topics discussed in this article.

Healing Cortisol Imbalances with Dr. Scott Resnick

Polyvagal Theory with Deb Dana

Using Neuroplasticity to Heal with Dr. Eleanor Stein 

The Recovery Process with Alex Howard

Episode #5 on Vision, Goals and Routine

Episode #4 on Pacing

Episode #3 on Sleep