You’re Not Just Tired, Chronic Fatigue

Posted on10/08/2025by Shirley Appleby

By Shirley Appleby

You’re Not Just Tired, Chronic Fatigue

When you live with chronic fatigue, people often imagine it as simply “being tired.” They think of the sleepiness after a long day or the heaviness that follows a late night. But chronic fatigue is something entirely different. It is not fixed by a good night’s sleep or a weekend off. It is a deep, persistent exhaustion that can be physical, mental, and emotional all at once. It can flare suddenly and unpredictably, changing what you can do from one day to the next.

In education and work, this reality is often hidden. From the outside, you might look completely fine, you show up, you contribute, you get things done. But behind the scenes, you are constantly calculating energy costs. You are deciding whether that meeting, that lecture, that walk across campus is worth the price it will take from the rest of your day, your week, or even your month. This is the constant mental arithmetic of life with chronic fatigue.

For many, chronic fatigue does not come alone. It can be part of a layered life, tangled with neurodivergence, long term health conditions, or the demands of caregiving. Sometimes it develops after years of pushing through in environments that were never designed with our wiring in mind. The result is a body and mind that need a different rhythm, one that honours energy as a precious, limited resource.

Support starts with understanding that rhythm. Some people work best in the quiet hours before the world wakes up, others find their focus later in the day. What matters is not when the work happens, but whether it can be done consistently and with dignity. This means building plans that flex, shifting heavy tasks to better energy windows, making space for recovery after effort, and creating environments that reduce unnecessary strain.

Good support is rarely a one off policy or a fixed checklist. It is a living agreement, co created and reviewed regularly. It might mean reshaping workloads so they focus on essential tasks, cutting down on unnecessary meetings, or making sure instructions and timelines are clear and predictable. It might mean blending home and on site work, making sure travel is manageable, or allowing the freedom to step back on flare days without fear of judgement.

When these adjustments are in place, the change can be remarkable. People are not just able to “cope,” they can thrive. They can contribute their skills, creativity, and insight without burning out in the process. And often, those same adjustments make things better for everyone, not just those with chronic fatigue.

For employers, managers, and disability advisers

If you are supporting someone with chronic fatigue, the most valuable thing you can do is create space for an honest conversation. The goal is not to tick a list of adjustments, but to understand how their energy works and how their role can flex to support that.

Try starting with questions like:

• What does a typical week of energy look like for you, including your best times of day and any early warning signs of a flare?

• Which tasks take the most energy, and which can you usually manage even on low energy days?

• What two or three changes would make the biggest difference right now?

• How will we know if our current plan needs adjusting, and when should we review it?

These conversations work best when they are rooted in trust, when changes are reviewed regularly, and when success is measured not by hours at a desk but by whether the person can do the core parts of their role reliably and with dignity.

Alongside these conversations, practical tools can make a meaningful difference. Assistive software can reduce the time and effort needed to complete tasks, helping conserve energy for higher priority work. Ergonomic seating, keyboards, and footrests can reduce joint pain and encourage circulation, making it easier to sustain focus. Time and space for short audio meditations can help reset the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering stress and supporting recovery between activities. These are not luxuries, they are part of building an environment where people can perform at their best.

To anyone living with chronic fatigue right now, know this, you are not failing. You are carrying a load that most people cannot see, while navigating a body that needs more care than the world often offers. You deserve work and study that fit your wiring, and support that respects your needs and honours your capacity.

And to those supporting or employing someone with chronic fatigue, your willingness to listen, adapt, and believe makes all the difference. You are not just accommodating a condition, you are creating a space where people can show up as their best selves, even on the days when energy is scarce.

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