November 27, 2016

Open letter to a person suffering from a mysterious, chronic illness

November 27, 2016/ Johanna Galea

This is an open letter to anyone suffering from a mysterious, chronic illness. Invisible illnesses like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, food sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivity, anxiety and many others are unfortunately poorly understood, leading to even more suffering and isolation. Through this open letter, I wish to show anyone suffering from these types of illnesses that they’re not alone and that things can improve. But I know how difficult it is to believe that when you're suffering and that's why I really wish to get this message across.

November 20, 2016

Here's what I wrote when my life had started all over again 6 years ago

November 20, 2016/ Johanna Galea

I still remember the day I was first diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome 7 years ago. I also never forgot how good it felt when I managed to overcome it (or so I thought back then) through dietary changes. And yet it was still strange to read what I had written at the time and to realise how similar some things were to the way I feel now. And I thought you might be interested to read what I wrote when my life had started all over again 6 years ago. So here goes.

November 13, 2016

What caused the sudden (or not so sudden?) onset of my mysterious, chronic illness?

November 13, 2016/ Johanna Galea

It would probably have made sense for us to remove the bottles of water while taking this photo, but I was so excited about eating a plate of gnocchi for the first time in 2 years that I really wasn’t thinking :) But this blog post isn’t about gnocchi. This blog post is all about the question I get asked most often whenever someone hears my story: What caused my mysterious, chronic illness? To be honest, there’s no easy answer. But now that I’ve recovered fully through DNRS, I have a slightly clearer idea of how this all started. So here goes.

November 06, 2016

A day in the life of someone with chronic fatigue syndrome

November 06, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Here’s a glimpse into a typical day in my life a year ago when I was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity and extreme food sensitivities. Of course not every day was exactly the same – some days I felt a bit better, some days I felt a bit worse – but this was a typical day at the time.

October 30, 2016

Laugh every day and live a longer (and happier) life

October 30, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Last Friday was a really special day for us. We had the launch of my father’s first book and our dear niece Elise’s christening. Here’s my take on the book, why the book launch was so special, why Dermot and I ended up running in Valletta – Dermot in his suit and me in my dress and carrying my shoes – and why laughter is so incredibly good for you.

October 23, 2016

Why I took selfies while I was chronically ill

October 23, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Long story short: when I was chronically ill, I thought it might help some people realise they’re not alone if they could see photos of me at my worst. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever decide to share photos of myself looking so bad. I was even embarrassed to ask my husband or family to take them for me. But I wanted to have them in case I ever did and in case they could ever help someone. So here’s why I took selfies while I was chronically ill.

October 16, 2016

How I overcame food intolerances: from just 8 foods to being able to eat anything

October 16, 2016/ Johanna Galea

It had never even crossed my mind that I might one day be able to eat anything I want. From being able to eat just 8 foods at my most sensitive, I was happy to see my food choices increase gradually. But there were some foods – like corn – which I knew I would have to avoid for the rest of my life. So being able to eat things like corn again is far beyond a dream come true – because I never even dreamt it might be possible. And here's how I overcame my food sensitivities and how you can too.

October 09, 2016

15 things someone suffering from a mysterious, chronic illness wishes you to know

October 09, 2016/ Johanna Galea

I was inspired to write this post after reading an excellent article by Dr. Audrey Komrij Jones about autism. I wrote it because I remember how little I knew about mysterious, chronic illnesses before I became ill myself. So here are the 15 things I would have liked you to know when I was chronically ill.

October 02, 2016

Knowing when to let go: Why I’m no longer a triathlete

October 02, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Thinking about today’s Malta National Triathlon Championships reminded me of something I had written in 2014, months after choosing to stop being a triathlete. Although much of this post is about my decision to no longer be a triathlete, it’s also about any big changes we choose to make in our lives. And about how we should embrace such changes and always remember the reasons we decided to make the change. About feeling nostalgic, but knowing when to let go. Enjoying it while it lasts, but then being able to look back on it as a beautiful time while being able to redefine yourself without it.

September 25, 2016

The number one reason it’s so difficult to decide to give neural retraining a try

September 25, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Find out the number one reason it's so difficult for someone suffering from a mysterious, chronic illness to decide to give neural retraining a try. It’s the main reason I almost didn’t give it a try myself. But I’m so grateful that I did and wish that anyone suffering from similar illnesses would too. Neural retraining could give you or someone you know their life back the way it did for me.

Photo by Matthew Mirabelli Photography

September 18, 2016

Are you making the most of your happy memories?

September 18, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Ghar Lapsi is a magical place for me. Just thinking about being there can make me feel happier and calmer. But when I started neural retraining I realised that I hadn't been making the most of my happy memories. And that's really changed things for me. So in this blog post, I've written about what you can do to get more out of your happy memories.

September 11, 2016

Open letter to the woman who saved my life

September 11, 2016/ Johanna Galea

How would you thank someone for saving your life? After being diagnosed with a mysterious and chronic illness, I now have my life back in more ways than I could ever even dream of before. This is an open letter to thank Annie Hopper, founder of the Dynamic Neural Retraining System, for saving my life.

Photo by Ian Redd

September 04, 2016

When closed roads lead to nicer routes

September 04, 2016/ Johanna Galea

Finding closed roads when we're trying to get somewhere tends to lead to frustration but can end up leading us to discover nicer routes. And here's how things changed for me by being made to take a different life path. More than anything, I learned to stop rushing through life but rather to take the time to appreciate how beautiful life is.

Photo by Rene Rossignaud Photography

August 28, 2016

Dermot's views on my journey and recovery

August 28, 2016/ Johanna Galea

After I published my open letter to Dermot, some of you asked me to also write about the experience from his point of view. This month we celebrated our second anniversary and I decided it was the perfect time to do so. So here it is: my journey and recovery from extreme food sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivity and chronic fatigue syndrome through Dermot's eyes.

August 21, 2016

5 things I intend to do differently now that I’ve been given a second chance at life

August 21, 2016/ Johanna Galea

After a year of being chronically ill, I feel so lucky to have been given a second chance at life. And I’m definitely going to make the most of this second chance. Just by doing these 5 things differently, I now go to sleep happier every day, even on the more challenging days.

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