Rachel O’Connor’s Story
CFS - Fibromyalgia - IBS
“It’s almost like my body knew what would get my attention, because none of the other health challenges it had delivered over the years were enough to make me stop and take notice.”
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● Overwork/over-exercise
● Fear of failure
● Trauma of illness
● Over-ambition
● Poor boundaries
● Lack of self-compassion
● Perfectionism
● Emotional repression
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● Hypothyroid
● IBS (chronic constipation and anal fissures)
● Ehlers Danlos
● Fibroids and hormonal imbalances
● Lichen sclerosis
● Plantars fasciitis
● TMJ
● Anxiety
● Depression
● Food sensitivities
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● Emotional Freedom Technique
● Mindset and belief work
● Diet and supplementation - Medical Medium
● Self-compassion
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● Chronic fatigue for 10 years
● Fibromyalgia for 5 years
● IBS for 25 years
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Early Struggles and Warning Signs
Experienced various physical and mental health issues for 20 years.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) developed after having amalgam fillings replaced.
Ignored initial symptoms and pushed through severe fatigue without seeking diagnosis.
Realisation and Diagnosis
Struggled with intense fatigue and weight gain despite rigorous exercise.
Eventually stopped working to focus on recovery.
Diagnosed with CFS and hypothyroid after seeing a Functional Medicine doctor.
Initial Attempts and Setbacks
Tried multiple recovery methods: books, internet research, YouTube, podcasts, saunas, Epsom salt baths.
Suffered from dental issues and emotional stress, worsening fatigue.
Experienced setbacks after each dental procedure, leading to fear of dentists.
Turning Point
Personal loss deepened depression and anxiety.
Started small by spending time in a local park, gradually increasing outdoor activities.
Discovered the mind-body connection and began following the Medical Medium approach.
Significant Progress and New Challenges
Improved mood and energy through Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and affirmations.
Worked with a practitioner to release trauma and address fears.
Developed new symptoms like dizziness and TMJ from stress and dental work.
Acceptance and Continued Recovery
Accepted the possibility of chronic pain and found peace, which led to healing.
Trained as an EFT practitioner, overcoming fears of returning to a high-pressure life.
Fully recovered from CFS and fibromyalgia after five years.
Transformation and Giving Back
Became a Holistic Life Coach and Mind Body practitioner to help others with similar conditions.
Embraced the mind-body connection, viewing symptoms as signals of life imbalance.
Continues to grow personally, using recovery as an ongoing journey of personal development.
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Rachel’s Website
Rachel’s YouTube recovery story
The Descent into Chronic Fatigue
By the time I got chronic fatigue, I’d been sick for most of my adult life. Although chronic fatigue was the most impactful illness in terms of interfering with my lifestyle, it wasn’t the earliest warning my body had been sending me that something wasn’t right.
I’d been seeking alternative health support for 20 years for a laundry list of different physical and mental health issues by the time chronic fatigue arrived in my life. My life until CFS had been punctuated by health highs and lows.
One of the environmental health hospitals I’d frequented for years had a lot of chronic fatigue patients—many of whom I had met—and I remember thinking, “I’m so glad I don’t have that, it sounds so awful.” Just a few short years later, there I was, dragging myself to work every day, resting all weekend, and terrified that I was slipping into something I couldn’t get out of. I had seen all these people with CFS who had been sick for years at that hospital, and all of a sudden, that was me. It’s almost like my body knew what would get my attention, because none of the other health challenges it had delivered over the years were enough to make me stop and take notice.
The trigger for fatigue had been getting my amalgam fillings swapped out for white ones. I remember feeling exhausted after that, and it never abated.
For the first four years, I fought it hard. So hard that I didn’t seek a diagnosis—I had met so many people with CFS who weren’t healing that I didn’t have any faith that it would make a difference or that anyone could help me. I guess deep down, I didn’t want my worst fears to be confirmed.
I pushed through the fatigue to maintain a gruelling exercise routine that involved 4am rises to lift weights followed by a four-mile walk to work. It was only when my weight went up six kilograms in three months, despite following the same regime I’d always followed, that I stopped and started to take notice.
At this point, the fatigue got so bad that I had to stop my career and put all my attention towards recovery.
“ I never felt safe in the world.”
The Struggle and the Turning Point
To that point life had always been one of work. Since the age of 14, I had juggled work and school, and then through higher education and into work, I’d never just done one thing. I’d always had a side hustle.
I was very ambitious and driven by the accumulation of money. This led me to managerial positions and working weekends and evenings doing my own projects to make money.
I had no connection with my emotions. I never cried, I always doubted whether my feelings were valid. I’d look to other people to validate them. I feared conflict and could never say no to people. I never felt safe in the world. And unsurprisingly I’d always been unwell with one thing or another.
After seeking out a “miracle” cure, getting amalgam vapour removed from recently restored fillings—which made the fatigue worse—I sought help from a nutritionist who suggested I see a Functional Medicine doctor because the weight gain had them suspecting a thyroid condition. The doctor diagnosed me with chronic fatigue and hypothyroid.
Six months after leaving work, the dental work I had earlier caused havoc with my teeth, and if fatigue wasn’t bad enough, I had to deal with dental trauma and expensive restorative work so I could eat normal food again. By this point, my life had become only about recovery. I read books, surfed the internet, watched YouTube, listened to podcasts, I sauna’d, had Epsom salt baths, I was trying anything that looked like it would deliver recovery quickly, and went through invasive, painful dental procedures.
I noticed a pattern: each dental surgery resulted in a crash lasting three months or more. Initially, I thought it was the anaesthetic, leading to a fear of dentists. But over time, I realised it was the emotional stress associated with my dental issues that exacerbated my fatigue.
At some point, intense, burning pain across my shoulders and back emerged, lasting for months. I was stuck in a cycle: as my health slightly improved, more dental work would set me back.
A death in the family marked a turning point. When my favourite uncle passed away, I hit rock bottom, spiralling further into depression and anxiety.
“Recovery found me when I opened my mind to new possibilities. ”
The Path to Recovery and Beyond
In a moment of deep reflection, I realised I needed significant changes to heal. My first goal was to leave the house. I started with 10 minutes in my local park daily. Initially, it was difficult due to pain and breathlessness, but gradually, I began to look forward to it. By spring and summer, I spent up to an hour outside, feeding park animals and feeling a shift in my perspective and well-being.
Recovery found me when I opened my mind to new possibilities. I’d been reading about the mind-body connection for years but hadn’t been ready to fully embrace it. An online acquaintance recommended Medical Medium, and I felt a surge of hope. Although funds were running low, I began following this approach alone.
Initially, I felt great on the new diet, but soon hit a plateau. A friend suggested EFT with affirmations. I revisited and began tapping for over an hour daily. My mood improved significantly as I started to understand the connection between my fears and physical symptoms.
Working with a practitioner to release traumas, I realised my fear of life and my approach to it were affecting my health. Consistently following Medical Medium and processing emotions, addressing my beliefs about recovery, processing some of the traumatic experiences my health issues had given me, working through traumas from childhood and shifting my perspective on life in general led to significant energy shifts over six months.
However, new symptoms like dizziness and headaches emerged, with one side of my face swelling. Desperate, I sought specialist advice. It took a year to diagnose TMJ, which was a result of all the dental work and stress. By then, I was sleeping only a couple of hours a night, feeling the life I’d glimpsed slipping away.
Resolving TMJ took another six months. This period forced me to confront deep-seated fears and traumas. Accepting that I might never be free from pain, yet finding peace with it, led to significant healing.
Unconsciously, part of me didn’t want to recover, fearing a return to my high-pressure life. Training to become an EFT practitioner helped me overcome this hurdle, restoring my energy. Now, five years on, I am free from CFS and fibromyalgia.
This experience transformed my life, leading me to train in the tools that helped me recover. As a Holistic Life Coach and Mind Body practitioner, I now help clients overcome or manage conditions like CFS and EDS. Embracing the mind-body connection was so impactful for me that I knew I had to share it. I now see symptoms as signals that something in my life is out of balance, a realisation I ignored for too long.
Recovery isn’t an endpoint but an opportunity. It has been the beginning of a personal growth journey that continues to support me through life’s challenges.
