2025 - the Hardest Year of my Life

Okay, maybe that title's a bit rich, but the first half of this year has definitely been a challenging year for me.

I started off the year unwell and very exhausted. After lots of rest, doctor's appointments and months later, I was still unwell. The sickness and fatigue wasn't budging. This sickness, believed by my GP to be autistic burnout, led to me receiving an autism diagnosis in April. This was a big moment to me - coming to terms with my autistic identity and also realising that I would have to make some serious lifestyle changes if I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in autistic burnout.

I continued throughout the months to get sicker and more fatigued. My doctors now believe that on top of autistic burnout, I have actually started experiencing ME/CFS again. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a chronic illness I lived with for a few years as a teenager and had been in remission for for the past four years, until now.

To top it all off, mere weeks after receiving my autism diagnosis and months into the chronic fatigue and illness, my then boyfriend unexpectedly broke off our long-term relationship.

Safe to say, things went from not good, to bad, to much worse really quickly.

It has been both a very physically and mentally challenging period for me. I have had to learn to listen to my body better - to rest, to pace myself, to offer myself compassion. I have also been quickly learning everything that I can about autism and how it has shaped my life experiences and outlook on life thus far. It has been a period of so much learning, both academically and also in terms of self-awareness.

Whilst I am grateful for the life lessons and self-growth, I would now very much appreciate a break from the many challenges thrown my way. So here's to hoping that the second half of the year is more uneventful (and hopefully has a bit more energy!).