Chronically Glitched Podcast ( M.E / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome )

Martina

Chronically Glitched: A Digital Diary New Episodes every 2nd Sunday. buymeacoffee.com/chronicallyglitched A raw, working-class account of life with ME/CFS, no sugarcoating, no recovery fantasies, no safety net. This is the real version of chronic illness: the collapse, the grief, the complete destruction of identity, and the fight to build a life that still feels like yours. Honest but never cruel, darkly funny, emotional, human. A place where your feelings are seen, heard, and understood.

  1. 18h ago

    The Holiday Crash ( M.E / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome )

    In this episode Mum and me talk about our little holiday to Marske and how it actually went in reality. We talk about the good moments, the bits where I managed to feel a little more normal again, and then the aftermath afterwards and how long it took my body to recover from pushing beyond its limits. We end up talking a lot about family health and the strange ways illness and certain traits seem to pass through generations. Mum talks about things she later discovered about her grandma and how many similarities there are between different members of the family, from bowel problems and diverticulitis to the way our bodies seem to react to stress and illness in similar ways. It becomes a bigger conversation about genetics, inherited health issues, and how families slowly piece these patterns together over time. We also talk honestly about ME/CFS treatments, symptom management, and the reality that most people with chronic illness spend years trying different things hoping for improvement. Some things can help a bit, some things help certain people more than others, but there still isn’t a cure. We discuss pacing, rest, and why protecting your energy becomes one of the biggest parts of surviving with this illness. Another big part of the conversation is work and the damage that can happen when you spend every bit of energy trying to prove you can still keep going. We talk about how work can end up taking everything from you. You force yourself to show up, push through, and hold yourself together for work, but then there’s nothing left afterwards for family, hobbies, relationships, or yourself. The crash comes later, behind closed doors. We also mention one of the support groups I’m part of, Brain Health Breakthrough CIC, and how important it can be to find people who genuinely understand this illness and the reality of living with it day to day. You can find them here:https://brainhealthbreakthrough.co.uk And as always, we finish with the things that have been keeping us company lately.

    1h 7m

  2. May 17

    This is Also M.E, Crashing with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Real Time

    Episode 13: This Is Also ME, Crashing with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Real Time This wasn’t supposed to be the next episode. Mum and me were due to record properly, but I’ve been really unwell, and instead of disappearing for weeks until I could manage a full episode, I wanted to leave something honest behind in the gap. So this is a shorter episode. About half an hour. Recorded while I’m in the middle of feeling properly rough after family visits, overstimulation and trying to recover again out in the garden. I think it’s important to capture these moments too. Not just the “best version” of chronic illness where you can tidy yourself up enough to speak clearly and sound normal for an hour. Sometimes ME is unpredictable. Sometimes it pulls the rug completely. Sometimes all you can do is sit outside and try to calm your nervous system back down again. This episode is basically a little bridge between now and the next full episode. But it’s also probably one of the more accurate snapshots of what living with ME actually feels like day to day. #MECFS #ChronicIllness #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #InvisibleIllness #DisabledCreator #Spoonie #ChronicFatigue #PodcastUK #MentalHealth #HealthPodcast #ChronicIllnessPodcast #MELife #NeuroimmuneDisease #Housebound #PostExertionalMalaise #PEM #ChronicallyGlitched #MECFSAwareness #RealLifeWithME #PodcastRecommendation #BritishPodcast #YorkshirePodcast #DisabilityAwareness #LivingWithME

    18 min

  3. May 3

    Part Two: Living With FND: Seizures, Brain Glitches, Disability & Rebuilding Life

    Part two with Nicola, now focusing on life after diagnosis. We talk about what Functional Neurological Disorder actually feels like day to day. Nicola describes it as her brain firing on three cylinders instead of five, with signals glitching and misfiring. We cover the reality of non-epileptic seizures, the fear that comes with them, and how quickly life can change. We also talk about the practical side of disability. Using walking aids, planning everything around energy, trying to leave the house, and the knock-on crashes that follow. There’s a lot of unhelpful advice out there about FND, and we don’t shy away from that either. Most of all, this episode comes back to friendship. We started out bonding over shared health struggles, and now we’re both much worse, but we understand each other in a way most people don’t. #fnd #functionalneuro #nonepilepticseizures #chronicillness #mecfs #disability #spoonie #invisibleillness #brainfog #neurologicaldisorder #chronicfatigue #mentalhealth #chronicillnesslife #ukpodcast #chronicillnesssupport

    1h 3m

  4. Apr 19

    Part One: From Friendship to Diagnosis: ME, FND, Medical Gaslighting & Nicola’s Story

    In this episode of Chronically Glitched, my friend Nicola joins me for the first part of a very honest conversation. We talk about how we met and how our friendship grew through shared experiences of chronic illness and mental health struggles. Nicola opens up about her journey before diagnosis, including endometriosis, hysterectomy, pancreatitis, open surgery, and functional cognitive impairment. We also get into the reality of medical gaslighting, being passed between specialists, and the emotional toll of not being believed. This episode covers grief, depression, and the long road to finally being diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), on top of everything else she was already dealing with. This is what it actually looks like before a diagnosis. Confusion, dismissal, and trying to hold yourself together while your body is falling apart. #chronicillness #fnd #mecfs #medicalgaslighting #endometriosis #hysterectomy #pancreatitis #mentalhealth #chronicillnessawareness #invisibleillness #spoonie #nhs #grief #depression #functionalneurologicaldisorder

    43 min

  5. Apr 5

    The Cost of Leaving the House

    We start with a catch up after a busy couple of weeks, including Mum being interviewed about coming over from Ireland. Then we move into what I’ve been doing, including trying at home massage and what it does to the nervous system. We talk about the parasympathetic state and how it can briefly give you a window of feeling more normal, enough to get out of the house, before the reality hits afterwards. That delayed crash, the kind that wipes you out long after the activity is over. From there we get into the practical side of it. What actually helps when you’re in that state and your body is completely done. We also touch on body image, how illness changes your relationship with your body, and the mental side of that. We finish, as always, with what’s keeping us company. #chronicallyglitched #mecfs #chronicfatigue #invisibleillness #postexertionalmalaise #chronicillnesslife #spoonie #energycrash #nervoussystem #chronicillnessawareness

    50 min

  6. Mar 22

    Growing Up With ME: Gabriel’s Side

    This episode is a conversation with my son Gabriel about what it was actually like growing up with a mum with ME. We talk about when he first realised something wasn’t right, how it affected our day to day life, and what he understood as a child versus what he understands now. He shares honest memories of plans changing, what he found difficult, and the parts of our life that still worked despite the illness. This is not a medical discussion. It is the view from the other side of it. A child growing up around chronic illness, and what that really looks like over time. If you are a parent with ME, or someone who grew up around illness, this episode will likely feel familiar. Gabriel's social media and links can be found HERE #ChronicallyGlitched #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicIllness #MECFS #InvisibleIllness #ChronicIllnessLife #ParentingWithIllness #DisabilityAwareness #RealLifeChronicIllness #FamilyLife #ChronicIllnessPodcast #MEAwareness #LivingWithIllness #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #PodcastUK

    58 min

  7. Mar 8

    Hope, Harm and the Online ME Cure Narrative

    In this Mum and Me episode we talk about misinformation around ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, and how dangerous cure narratives can spread online. From nervous system “recovery” claims to staged looking health talks and oversimplified recovery stories, we unpack how easy it is for hopeful messaging to become harmful when it ignores the biological reality of ME. Martina talks about her own experience with EMDR and EFT, what those therapies genuinely helped with, and why calming the nervous system is not the same thing as curing a complex multi system illness. We also discuss the emotional damage false hope can cause when people push themselves trying to recover, only to end up blamed when it does not work. Along the way we touch on real biomedical research, including the UK DNA study Martina took part in, and why context matters when public recovery stories are presented as templates.

    54 min

  8. Season 1, Episode 8 Trailer

    Trailer for Episode 8 Hope, Harm and the Online ME Cure Narrative

    Trailer for Episode 8 of Chronically Glitched. In this Mum & Me episode we talk about misinformation around ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, and the real harm that dangerous cure narratives can cause. From nervous system “recovery” claims to oversimplified online advice, we unpack how hopeful messaging can quickly turn into pressure, blame and false hope for people living with ME. We also talk about the difference between therapies that help manage symptoms and claims that promise full recovery, and why context matters when recovery stories are shared online. Episode 8 – “Hope, Harm and the Online ME Cure Narrative” is out Sunday 8th March. Follow, listen or watch by searching Chronically Glitched on your platform of choice. Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts TikTok Facebook #ChronicallyGlitched #MEcfs #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MEdisease #MEAwareness #MillionsMissing #InvisibleIllness #ChronicIllness #ChronicIllnessPodcast #HealthMisinformation #MedicalMisinformation #FalseHope #RecoveryNarratives #PatientVoices #DisabledVoices #SpoonieLife #PodcastTrailer #NewPodcastEpisode #PodcastLaunch

    2 min
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About

Chronically Glitched: A Digital Diary New Episodes every 2nd Sunday. buymeacoffee.com/chronicallyglitched A raw, working-class account of life with ME/CFS, no sugarcoating, no recovery fantasies, no safety net. This is the real version of chronic illness: the collapse, the grief, the complete destruction of identity, and the fight to build a life that still feels like yours. Honest but never cruel, darkly funny, emotional, human. A place where your feelings are seen, heard, and understood.

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