Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is more than just feeling tired after activity — it’s a delayed and often severe worsening of symptoms that affects many people with ME/CFS and other energy-limiting conditions. In this episode, Anna unpacks what PEM is, why it happens, and what current research is beginning to reveal.
Anna explains how PEM differs from everyday fatigue, explores emerging insights into energy production, inflammation, and stress responses, and discusses why “pushing through” can be harmful. She also reflects on what this research means in real life, and how it can support safer pacing, validation, and more compassionate approaches to recovery.
This episode is a helpful listen if you want to better understand PEM, feel more validated in your experience, or learn how research can guide gentler, more supportive ways of managing energy.
Useful Links
Take the Chronic Fatigue Quiz: https://app.annamarsh.co.uk/quiz-page
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna__marsh_
Work with me: https://annamarsh.co.uk/work-together/
Website: http://annamarsh.co.uk/
Join the Nurturing Resilience Subscription: https://annamarsh.co.uk/nurturing-resilience/
Article Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12408823/
Shownotes Anna shares some updates from her recent trip to South Africa as well as a discussion about how to approach the New Year...
Shownotes There comes a point in one’s fatigue recovery journey where you are doing okay but you want more. In this episode Anna talks...
Movement can feel like a complicated topic for people living with chronic fatigue conditions. Many people have been told to exercise more. Others have...