William Groves’ Story
“If you think you will recover then you will, and likewise if you don’t you won’t.”
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Introduction
Experienced mild to moderate CFS/Post-viral fatigue, able to continue working thanks to an accommodating office-based role.
Busy family life with young children and a passion for cycling and sport.
Background
First signs of illness in March 2018 with head tightness, agitation, and disrupted sleep.
Maintained an active lifestyle, including endurance cycling challenges.
Increasing sleep difficulties, early waking, and fatigue.
The Beginning
Christmas 2018: severe restlessness, high heart rate, and sleep disruption.
By Easter 2019: extreme fatigue, dizziness, brain fog – “the day CFS kicked in.”
Tested positive for glandular fever on 1 May 2019, marking the recognised start of CFS.
The First Two Years
Doctors offered little support; some suggested antidepressants, which he stopped.
Continued to work full time, though sleep remained unrefreshing and disrupted.
Cancelled hospital appointment in 2020 after a short improvement, later realised symptoms persisted.
By 2021, insomnia and worsening symptoms led him to seek new approaches.
Found useful resources: Optimum Health Clinic, Dan Neuffer’s CFS Unravelled, Raelan Agle’s recovery story.
Learned that an overstimulated central nervous system (CNS) was driving symptoms.
Recovery
Adopted a strategy focused on calming the CNS.
Approaches included: meditation, pacing, self-hypnosis, ear TENS, infrared sauna, massage, humming, restorative yoga.
Took 3 months part-time work, then structured deep rest from Easter 2021–2022.
Communicated with family and friends about his need for rest, even using a t-shirt to signal crashes.
Sleep used as a barometer of recovery progress.
Later joined the Gupta Program (2023) for new motivation.
Learned balance between resting and gently pushing forward – crashes seen as part of recovery.
Am I Recovered?
Now around 90% recovered, living a largely normal life (golf, cycling with e-bike, walking, working).
Still experiences setbacks with intense exercise.
Uses mindset and belief in recovery as a key tool.
Feels his illness taught him to slow down, stop striving, and live more relaxed.
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Pushing exercise too far
Pushing too hard at work
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None
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Pacing
Nervous System Regulation
Gupta Program
Mindset and belief in recovery
Focus on nutrition
1 year of focused rest
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6.5/7 years
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Books:
The Power of the Unconscious Mind – Joseph Murphy
Introduction
I had what I would describe as mild with occasionally moderate CFS/Post viral fatigue. I was able to work for most of it. Mainly because my employer could accommodate me, I wouldn’t have been able to do all kinds of job. I have an office-based job with occasional field visits.
In March 2018 I felt unwell. It was a strange feeling I felt a tight feeling in my head. I was off work for a week but then went back. I remember feeling agitated. I went to a party and got involved a scuffle on the dance floor, nothing major but not something I wouldn’t normally do. Things seemed to clear up after a few weeks or so.
At the time I had 5- and 7-year-old girls (now 13 and 16), married (still am) and a good job managing flood risk and improving the environment (which I still have), so a fairly busy life. On top of all that I would do sports and in 2018 was at the peak of my interest in cycling. In 2017 I challenged myself to cycle 2000 miles a year, not alot by cycling enthusiast standards but enough for someone with a busy job and family and enough for someone who is not a natural endurance athlete. In 2018 I trained for and did a 165-mile road bike ride in Scotland and trained for a 32 mile mountain bike in the Shropshire hills that took 5 hours, I’d done this ride previously, it is extremely tough.
Around his point I noticed how I didn’t sleep as well as I used to. Waking up earlier and not being able to sleep in.
“By the time Easter came that was it. I woke up one day and boom, my head was spinning … it felt like a mixture of flu and a hangover.”
The Beginning
During Christmas 2018 I visited my in-laws and went to my room one evening as I felt I needed to rest, I remember not being able to get to sleep, though I felt like I needed to. I also remember my smart watch telling me that my heart rate at rest was about 90 BPM. I thought nothing of it and that it would just pass. It did to some degree and then during early 2019 I felt unable to concentrate during meetings at work. In February I visited my doctors and saw a nurse who said there were some nasty viruses about, and it could be that. I had a week off work sick which seemed to help a bit but then I went to back to work not feeling right.
In the run up to Easter 2019 I remember feeling extremely tired. I had booked time off work and decided that I would push through to Easter and then rest. In the 2 weeks prior to Easter, I would come home for work so tired and would go to bed and sleep for 12 hours. By the time Easter came that was it. I woke up one day and boom, my head was spinning, I had that feeling only people with CFS/post viral fatigue would understand. It felt like there was something in my head, it was heavy I felt slightly dizzy. Looking back this was the day CFS had properly kicked in. It felt like a mixture of flu and a hangover. It didn’t feel like a normal illness I felt zapped of energy and it was very hard to describe.
I went back to my Drs and had a test for glandular fever (mononucleosis). The results showed a strong result. The Dr said this was good as glandular fever doesn’t always show up well in a test. The date was 1 May 2019, and this is the date I refer to as the start of my CFS. I clearly had problems before this date but it’s so unclear when this was, so I just used this date.
“I quickly worked out Drs can’t help me… I always believed I could recover and that was important.”
The first 2 years
My Dr had had glandular fever and said that symptoms would just pass. Our family moved to a new drs surgery as the old one wasn’t very good. I saw a Dr who said that people have post glandular fever symptoms for many months and that it would just pass. I visited another who offered my anti- depressants, I took this for a month, but my intuition said that this wasn’t the right thing to do so I stopped. I quickly worked out Drs can’t help me.
For many months I rested but was able to work still, I had 3 weeks off work around the point I was tested for glandular fever. I felt a bit better for resting but had all of the head-based symptoms and didn’t feel normal. The symptoms were heavy and not nice, brain fog and a general feeling of unwellness.
I would often look to the future thinking by summer it will be gone or by the next holiday it will be gone and it didn’t. I started trawling the internet for answers as I decided my Drs couldn’t help. I came across CFS but decided as I was fit and healthy beforehand and that this couldn’t be me. I battled on with work full time, sleep was disrupted, I usually woke for 2 hours in the night feeling hot, I never woke refreshed, the longer I slept for the worse I felt. If I didn’t sleep I felt better but tired, known as tired and wired, but I couldn’t focus on work.
I had an appointment with a consultant at Telford Hospital in June 2020 but I started to feel better, I had days where symptoms weren’t present, so I cancelled this appointment. Later on I realised that this was just the imbalance of hormones tricking me into thinking I was getting better. The reality was that things were progressing but I still had CFS/post viral fatigue.
By late 2020 I did not have the symptoms I used to have but I started to get insomnia. Some nights I would not sleep at all. I could not understand how this could be the case. By early 2021 things got much worse my sleep was terrible. Looking back, I understand what was happening (The Optimum Health Clinic give a good explanation to the stages of the disease. I highly recommend people look at the video on youtube). I had entered the next stage of the disease. By Easter I had to stop, I couldn’t carry on with a strategy of hoping it would just wear off. I always believed I could recover and that was important. I contacted the Optimum Health Clinic and got an appointment to use their services and chose the nutrition service. I also read Raelan Aegles recovery story finding freedom and Dan Neuffers book, CFS unravelled.
Finally, I understood the condition and put a recovery strategy in place based about calming the central nervous system (CNS). What had happened to me was that my CNS was total pumped up. The Glandular fever and pushing through CFS for 2 years had left by body in fight or flight mode and this was causing all my symptoms. I learned that I should calm the CNS to a normal state, and symptoms would wane.
“From Easter 2021–2022 I did deep rest… I believe that this period of time was the most important in my recovery.”
Recovery
I used the Optimum Health Clinic service to clarify all the learnings from the books I read and the nutritionist put me on the path to healthy eating. I did not have a bad diet before that but was willing to try it to see if it would help. I combined this with lots of other ways to help my nervous system. This included:
Meditation
Pacing
Self-hypnosis
Tens machine on ear lobes
Infrared sauna
Massages
Humming
Restorative yoga
Yoga
For the flowing year I still worked but was part time for 3 months and this gave myself a chance to rest. I worked at home 4 days a week once I was full time. From Easter 2021 Easter- 2022 I did deep rest. I did work and focussed most of my rest time on rest and healing. I managed to go on holiday and watched my daughter play football every week and watched my team, Wolves, play once a month. Otherwise, I was in deep rest mode, I believe that this period of time was the most important in my recovery.
I made family and friends know what I was going through and that I was going underground for a while so I could recover. I wore a t-shirt when I was having a crash. It was by my favourites band and sends a clear message of what is happening. They would give me space when I wore it.
Since this time, I have slowly recovered. I have learned that sleep is the best barometer for your recovery, if you are sleeping well you are pacing yourself the right way.
I use YouTube for meditations but got bored of them and as I recovered I didn’t want to listen to the same ones as when I was really ill. I joined the Gupta program in 2023 after a crash so I could hear a new voice and get some fresh motivation, I would recommend people look for new things to keep them motivated to recover during the illness. It can be hard to stay motivated when recovery takes so long.
Pacing is the most important thing to do. I learned that you need to listen to your body, if symptoms come then take your foot off the gas. At the same time, you need to push every now and then to get to the next level. This can cause a crash, do not be afraid of these, they are an important part of moving forward. They can last weeks but if you do not push a bit you won’t improve. Do it too much and you won’t improve either, it’s tricky finding the perfect pathway but with enough rest and enough doing, you will find it.’
“I am about 90% recovered… my friends and work colleagues would say I am fully recovered.”
Am I recovered?
I have noticed over time that sleep is better, and symptoms are on the wane. I can play golf I have an electric bike, and I can walk further. I notice at work that I can focus for longer and I am more active. My friends and work colleagues would say I am fully recovered.
I am about 90% recovered, my aim is to get back to my old life. I read a book called power of the unconscious mind and it basically says you will become what you think. If you think you will recover then you will and likewise if you don’t you won’t.
I live a normal life, but intense exercise can cause me a problem with sleep disruption and general dysregulation. I expect that I will be completely normal at some point and that I will have to push to do the exercise. I understand that it takes time. I don’t push for general things anymore I feel more relaxed and the irony is I don’t crave for the things I couldn’t do when I first got the condition. The pushing and striving that got me into CFS /post viral fatigue no longer exists.
It’s like my body was helping me get to where I am today by telling me to slow down and stop pushing.
