A message from our founder Cassandra A Campbell
"Living with a chronic illness can be devastating.
As well as the physical pain, chronic illness can cause mental and emotional distress, affect interpersonal relationships, career and every single aspect of life. At one point or another we feel like we've been robbed of our childhoods, career prospects, ambitions and overall hopes and dreams for a happy, fulfilled life.
Over time, the lack of energy and motivation to get through the day becomes overwhelming. But change is possible. The transformation won't happen overnight; it will be a challenging and emotional process, but it will definitely be worth it!"
The Stats
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EDS/ HSD (connective tissue disorders) The medical literature states that the most common out of the 13 types of EDS – hypermobile - affects 1 in 5,000 people however this statistic is based on research that is out-of-date www.ehlers-danlos.org
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FM (musculoskeletal) According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, 3-6% of the world’s population has fibromyalgia syndrome. this estimate would mean that somewhere around 200 million to 400 million people worldwide have fibromyalgia syndrome www.fibromyalgiasyndrome.co.uk
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ME/CFS (neurological) The CDC estimates that as many as 17-24 million people worldwide have ME/CFS.
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People with a physical disability are more likely to experience a mental health problem, while people with a mental health problem are more likely to experience a physical health problem.
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More than 15 million people - 30% of the UK population - live with one or more long-term conditions, and more than 4 million of these people will also have a mental health problem.
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People with long-term physical conditions are more likely to have lower wellbeing scores than those without.
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Of people with severe symptoms of mental health problems, 37.6% also have a long-term physical condition. This compares with 25.3% of people with no or few symptoms of a mental health problem.
Source: Mentalhealth.org.uk