It all began in my 20s.
My body crashed.
I had pushed myself to the limits and ignored the warning signs. I was in denial—I thought I would be fine. I just needed a weekend’s rest, or so I thought.
That turned into months in bed and took years to recover. Back then it was called ‘yuppie flu’.
I felt completely lost, lonely, and out of control. My body had let me down—or so I thought. Life felt like it was crumbling around me. I was newly married and had to move back in with my parents because I couldn’t look after myself.
Just before I crashed, I was working as a physiotherapist, studying, rowing and training five times a week, playing tennis, and maintaining a full social life.
I did eventually recover with time and patience… only to crash again 30 years later—back in bed, staring at the ceiling.
This time, I was determined to understand what was going on.
Why me?
As a perfectionist and achiever, I had always pushed myself—at work, in sport, and socially. I lived in a constant state of fight or flight. Rest and repair were never priorities. “Pacing” wasn’t in my vocabulary. Neither was “no.”
As a physiotherapist and lecturer, I understood the body—but I hadn’t fully appreciated the mind-body connection. My gut health had been compromised, and earlier illness had impacted my immune system. It was never just one thing—it was a build-up over time.
How did I recover?
I had to go on a journey of discovery. I needed a roadmap through what felt like an overwhelming city with endless exits—which one to take?
At times, it felt like navigating dead ends, U-turns, and roundabouts—frustration, anger, disbelief. Would I ever find my way out of this “exhausted city”?
Slowly, I began to create my own map. It was a slow, emotional journey—but I held onto the belief that I would find a way through.
I had to learn how to navigate my way out of the fight and flight response and into the rest and repair response to allow my body to heal. I had to reconnect mind and body, start meditations and learn to listen to my body. I had a nutritionist who helped me to restore my gut health and ended up becoming a naturopathic nutritionist myself.
I completed a programme with the ‘natural success’ looking at how to connect to your true self and what that means for you. It was very powerful and way out of my comfort zone but helped me so much. I wrote my book From Fatigue to Freedom thanks to this course.
The icing on the cake was finding One of many® helping women with burnout get me out of ‘superwoman’ and ‘overwhelm’. It helped me in so many ways, but I learnt to truly love myself again. This took time and patience, but my goodness was it worth it! I then became a coach with the One of many® through the ICF, so I could use all the tools I had learnt to help others.
Most importantly, I learned to love myself again.
Recovery didn’t come from one path—but from many.