Counting the costs

Little thought or research has been given either by the state or individuals as to the cost of care

• How much as being unwell cost you so far?

• What is the mental cost to you of being unable to life your life?

• What is the emotional cost to you of all the things you can no longer do?

• How much would you be earning, or would you have earnt by now, if you were well?

• What is the cost to your family and friends, seeing you unwell and unable to live the life you want to?

• How much have you invested seeing practitioner after practitioner in attempt to get well?

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For me, being told my GP that my test results were all normal and there was there for nothing wrong with me for over 20 years of constant visits cost me my confidence in my mind and body.

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For me, visiting therapist after therapist, practitioner after practitioner, gave me a feeling of being a little bit in control of my wellbeing, but as none were ever able to get to the core of the problems, none ever helped me recover, only lessened a few symptoms, it cost me well in excess of £20,000 in the last 10 years of my illness before I enrolled with the Chrysalis Effect online program for just £27 a month, and saw a Chrysalis Effect Specialist Practitioner (just like I am now having trained).

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For me, I lost so many years of my childrens life as they grew up due to illness. And when I crashed, they both had to live with someone else for over a year, more than half of which I was unable to communicate with them. 

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For me, I spent so many years in boom or bust - either like a corpse in bed, or as soon as I had an once of energy, I was pushing every thing I had to catch up with the time lost that I had no life. 

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For me, I had to close my practice for 2 years, and become totally dependent on the state for financial support, the mental and emotional cost of which you can not appreciate unless you have been there.

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For me, my family were confused by my situation - I did everything I could to hide all my problems from them - then devastated and beyond worried about me when I ended up bed bound and the whole picture emerged. The result is that they still cluck and fuss despite my true recovery now.

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For me, I nearly lost my home. Because it took so long to get any state financial support following years and years of hand to mouth survival, being unable to maintain work sufficiently to ever save a penny, I had to put every single cost of living on my visa for 5 months. Every single penny I had to spend was on credit. Luckily, help came before I maxed out on that, and I should be able to finally pay that all off by 2035. Seriously. that long.

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My experience is tragically common, with some sufferers never finding the help they need and remaining stuck in illness for the rest of their lives.

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The 2017 study by The Optimum Health Clinic Foundation, "Counting The Cost" (click here for full report), put a proven figure of over £3.3 billion annual cost of CFS/ME to the UK, but states that this is likely a gross understatement, in part because it only covers those with a confirmed diagnosis. 

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But this story does not have to be yours. As the NICE guidelines state, CFS/ME needs Specialist Practitioner Support. There are a growing number of us with specialist training, we are all with The Chrysalis Effect.

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Make your story one of recovery, of fulfilment, of joy, of truly living.