You Were Told You'd Never Get Better.
New Research Says Otherwise.
Join a free webinar with the author of the study, Dr. Sarah Cefai, to learn what 75 recovery stories reveal about getting your life back from ME, CFS, long COVID, and related chronic illness.
You've heard it before: "There's no cure. Learn to manage it." You've tried the pacing, the supplements, the forums at 2 am. Good weeks give you hope; crashes take it away again. And somewhere underneath it all, one question keeps surfacing:
Is anyone actually getting better, or is "recovery" just a rumor? New research says it's a pattern.
A University of London study analyzed 75 interviews with people who describe themselves as recovered or significantly improved from ME/CFS, Long COVID, and related conditions:
- 77% described themselves as fully recovered
- 95% said a mind-body framework was central to their turnaround
- 84% pointed to nervous system regulation specifically
- 64% had been told recovery wasn't possible, and recovered anyway
- No participant reported any benefit from being told they'd never get better. It just made the road harder.
What separated recovery from staying stuck wasn't luck or a supplement. It was belief that recovery was possible, a framework for understanding their symptoms, an active role in their own recovery, and real support.
In this webinar, you will learn:
- What the Recovery Report found,
- Why nervous system regulation is physiological, not "it's in your head",
- How this differs from toxic positivity or "just think yourself better",
- Where pacing and energy limits still matter as you explore what's possible,
- What a realistic next step could look like for you.
This is for you if you've been told your condition is permanent and part of you isn't ready to accept that, or you want an evidence-informed take from a physician rather than an algorithm.
The webinar will last approximately 90 minutes.
- 5-10 minute introduction
- 40-minute presentation
- 10-minute break
- up to 30 mins of Q&A
Join us on Wednesday, June 4, 2026
at 10:00 am Pacific / 11:00 am Mountain / 1:00 pm Eastern
Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com
This presentation is part of Dr. Stein's Expert Speakers Series. These will be held approximately monthly, and each session will feature a different guest expert on topics of interest to people with complex chronic disease, chronic disease in general, and people interested in living healthier, longer.
All webinars are recorded. When you register, you get indefinite access.
ALL presentations in the Expert Speakers Series are free with a membership to Live! with Dr. Stein.
About the Presenters
Raelan Agle
Raelan lived with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME, CFS) for ten years before finally fully recovering. After countless, fruitless doctors' visits and tens of thousands of dollars spent providing little relief from her illness, she eventually realized that she would have to look within herself and listen to her body to find her path back to health.
Since her full recovery about four years ago, Raelan has become passionate about spreading hope for others facing chronic illnesses such as ME, CFS, long COVID, and fibromyalgia. She is the author of Finding Freedom: Escaping from the Prison of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, has built a successful YouTube channel full of resources for health and healing, and designed online courses to aid others on their journey towards health and happiness.
Sarah Cefai, MD
Dr. Sarah Cefai is Senior Lecturer in Gender and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, in the School of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, and Leverhulme Research Fellow 2024-25. She holds an MA (hons) in Geography with Gender from the University of Edinburgh (2002), an MSc in Gender from the London School of Economics (2005). She was also awarded her PhD in Gender and Cultural Studies by the University of Sydney (2012). Cefai joined Goldsmiths in 2019, where she teaches social and cultural theory, gender, media and cultural studies.
Eleanor Stein, MD
Dr. Eleanor Stein brings a rare combination of over 35 years of lived experience and medical expertise in myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, environmental sensitivities, long COVID and chronic pain.
She became ill with ME, CFS, FM and MCS in 1989. Since then, she has experienced, studied, and treated the full alphabet of related conditions, including joint hypermobility, orthostatic dysfunction and mast cell activation syndrome. She has personally tried hundreds of approaches, attended hundreds of medical conferences, and reviewed thousands of peer-reviewed papers to determine what works best for the greatest number of people.
Since retiring from medical practice at the end of 2022, Dr. Stein has dedicated her time to integrating emerging research in neuroplasticity, hormesis, circadian biology, and related fields. While traveling in her camper van, she continues to study and translate this research into practical, accessible programs designed to make the healing journey easier, safer, and more effective.
