I was first diagnosed with ME when I was 28. I had just bought my first flat, started a demanding new job and had been racing around for years and pushed myself hard.

In the past I'd also had Epstein Barr/glandular fever, which is a classic trigger. Then I picked up a bug and soon after I was completely floored and exhausted. I had only been in my new job for a year but had to take a few weeks off. Unfortunately, I only seemed to get worse with excessive, inappropriate levels of tiredness, myalgia, lack of energy and I became very weak physically.

This time I took six months off and moved back home with my parents as it was so difficult living alone, feeling so unwell. I remember taking a short walk, just a few minutes really, and having to call my mother to pick me up as I was unable to make it home. It was very frightening. Would I ever have a 'proper' life again. What about relationships? My future? It felt pretty depressing. I saw a couple of specialists but they didn't have much to offer apart from meditation.

I saw a GP/acupuncturist who put me on a restrictive diet but I'm not convinced it made much of a difference. I did receive advice on pacing which I found useful. It was also reassuring to talk to someone who understood. You can feel very isolated and lonely with this illness.

When my six months was up, I went back to work part time but it was still a struggle. Again, I seemed to have perked up a bit but soon got worse even though I moved a few minutes away from my job so I could get back easily for rests. My employers were helpful in many ways but didn't really understand ME. I looked OK didn't I (although when I see photographs of myself looking tired and grey I wonder how they could have thought that). I saw the work GP who didn't believe in ME and was convinced that I needed psychological help. He tested me for depression but I knew that wasn't it.

Yes, I felt very down sometimes and it was depressing but that wasn't the primary problem. Soon after I took another six months off and went home again. One wonderful thing had happened - I met my husband at a rare party (I decided I needed to go out and have some drinks however I felt afterwards) and he was lovely and understanding. I returned to work again, part time, and had certainly made improvements and was very careful about my lifestyle.

However it was a constant battle between me doing what I felt able to do and them wanting me to do more. One day I decided I'd had enough and my determination to prevail and succeed shifted. I wasn't going to be able to change their attitude but I could make the changes myself. Nonetheless I found the adjustment hard. I'd given up a regular salary, prestige, a high-profile job to work at home without all the informal contact you have with other people.

Some time later I was seeing an excellent acupuncturist (who had ME in the past herself) and she urged me to do the course. Clients of hers had found it amazing. I had heard of it and even looked into it in the past but have to admit that I was pretty sceptical, and even annoyed by the claims that were made. How could they possibly be able to help? She thought I'd pretty much got over ME when I saw her but my mind and body needed to 'know that'. So, I decided it was time to take the plunge and put most of my cynicism aside and went ahead. One thing I knew for sure was that I really wanted it to work and that I had spent far too long living under the shadow of ME.

I hadn't expected to actually enjoy the course - hanging out with a roomful of ME sufferers! But the surroundings were beautiful, the course itself was interesting and revelatory and so much of it made sense. I could at last understand why I had been feeling the way I had for so long. It was good, also, to hear what other people had to say, much of which I recognised. I found it strangely moving, especially to see the improvements other people made during the course and hearing what they'd been through. It was courageous of them (rather than daft) to come along. I put into practice everything we were taught and started to feel the benefits while I was there - gradually rather than in one almighty flash!

When I went back home (having made a couple of friends while I was there) I knew that ME was a thing of the past and that is the case now. It's very liberating. After I'd completed the course people commented on how well I was looking even though they'd had no idea I'd been on it. They thought I looked happier, better, and I certainly felt lighter somehow.

I was also reassured because I knew I had the necessary tools at my disposal so I could look to the future with much more confidence. I started writing more, which is something I really wanted to do and, with the inevitable blips and dips that are part of life, I feel I've made a huge improvement. My body feels much healthier too. I don't take it completely for granted, though, and want to make sure that the life I lead isn't too hectic as it just doesn't suit me - you have to know yourself a bit. Anyway, I heartily recommend this course to others and I now firmly believe that it can change your life too.

- Diana