I don’t like to talk about what it’s like to “have a chronic illness”, because everyone’s illness affects them in different ways. I only know what it’s like for me. My diagnoses are ME/CFS and FND. Both of these are somewhat ephemeral in that there is no solid diagnostic test that confirms that you have the condition – it’s more a case of ruling out what you don’t have and then fitting your symptoms into what’s left. My suspicion is that there are actually a number of things that cause the condition and as our medicine gradually becomes more advanced, we’ll slowly start to identify these causes.

When I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, my wife and I were actually quite excited that I finally had a firm diagnosis of something. There was treatment, things we could try, tests we could perform. In contrast, when I was diagnosed with FND, the consultant neurologist basically said, “You might become bed-ridden for the rest of your life, you might get better, who knows. No idea what might help. Goodbye.”