Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Mental Health, and Faith:
Bringing It into the Light
Revised September 2nd, 2026
By Pastor Tommy Luster
MAML, Registered Mental Health Counseling Intern
I live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, more formally known as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). I say that openly because this illness has lived in the shadows of misunderstanding for too long. I know professionally that chronic illness affects mental health. I also know personally what it is like when your mind wants to move forward, but your body simply does not have the energy to follow.
ME/CFS is not ordinary tiredness. It is a complex, multisystem illness involving substantial limitations in daily functioning, unrefreshing sleep, cognitive difficulties, and post-exertional malaise (PEM). PEM can cause symptoms to worsen after physical or cognitive exertion, sometimes after activities that once seemed routine (Deumer et al., 2021; Haunhorst et al., 2025). Research continues to investigate immune, metabolic, neurological, cardiovascular, and other physiological mechanisms involved in ME/CFS and PEM
(Haunhorst et al., 2025). We still do not have all the answers, and we should be honest about that.
What we do know is that living within unpredictable physical limitations can carry a significant psychological burden. Recent research has identified increased depressive and anxiety symptoms among people with ME/CFS, while studies also describe grief, isolation, stigma, loss of functioning, and experiences of not being believed or adequately supported (Fennell et al., 2021; König et al., 2024; Sirotiak et al., 2025). These findings matter because experiencing depression or anxiety alongside ME/CFS does not mean ME/CFS
is simply psychological. The body can be sick while the mind is struggling with what sickness has taken away.
This is where I believe whole-person care matters. As an integrative counselor, I view human suffering through a Psychopneumasomatic lens: mind, spirit, and body affect one another. We should not force someone to choose between caring for their physical health, addressing their mental health, and
nurturing their spiritual life.
As a pastor, I am also reminded that Scripture does not require us to pretend suffering does not hurt. David wrote, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18, English Standard Version). Paul later heard from God, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV). Neither passage denies suffering. Instead, they remind us that weakness and faith can exist in the same space.
Therapy has a place here, but that place must be understood correctly. Psychotherapy is not a cure for ME/CFS and should never communicate that people could recover if they simply thought differently or tried harder. Rather, counseling can provide a place to process grief, anxiety, changing roles, relationship strain, shame, uncertainty, and the loss of a former sense of self (Grande et al., 2023). Good therapy can help someone adapt to what has changed without surrendering who they are.
If you are living with ME/CFS, keep asking questions. Talk openly with your medical providers. Learn what your body is communicating. Give yourself permission to seek mental health support without believing that doing so invalidates your physical illness. And if faith is important to you, bring that part of yourself into the conversation too.
We may not have every answer yet. But silence is not the answer either.
At Striving Higher Counseling, I believe counseling should create room for the whole person—mind, spirit, and body. If chronic illness has affected your emotional health, relationships, identity, or faith, you do not have to carry that weight by yourself. Reaching out for counseling is not admitting that your illness is psychological. It is acknowledging that what you are living through matters—and that you deserve support while living through it.
References
Deumer, U.-S., Varesi, A., Floris, V., Savioli, G., Mantovani, E., López-Carrasco, P., Rosati, G. M., Prasad, S., & Ricevuti, G. (2021). Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): An overview. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(20), 4786. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10204786
Fennell, P. A., Dorr, N., & George, S. S. (2021). Elements of suffering in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: The experience of loss, grief, stigma, and trauma in the severely and very severely affected. Healthcare, 9(5), 553. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9050553
Grande, T., Grande, B., Gerner, P., Hammer, S., Stingl, M., Vink, M., & Hughes, B. M. (2023). The role of psychotherapy in the care of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Medicina, 59(4), 719. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina59040719
Haunhorst, S., Dudziak, D., Scheibenbogen, C., Seifert, M., Sotzny, F., Finke, C., Behrends, U., Aden, K., Schreiber, S., Brockmann, D., Burggraf, P., Bloch, W., Ellert, C., Ramoji, A., Popp, J., Reuken, P., Walter, M., Stallmach, A., & Puta, C. (2025). Towards an understanding of physical activity-induced post-
exertional malaise: Insights into microvascular alterations and immunometabolic interactions in post-COVID condition and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Infection, 53(1), 113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-024-02386-8
König, R. S., Paris, D. H., Sollberger, M., & Tschopp, R. (2024). Identifying the mental health burden in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients in Switzerland: A pilot study. Heliyon, 10(5),
e27031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27031
Sirotiak, Z., Adamowicz, J. L., & Thomas, E. B. K. (2025). Depressive and anxiety symptoms in current, previous, and no history of ME/CFS: NHIS 2022 analysis. Quality of Life Research, 34(3),
777–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-024-03854-2