Meet Raeya: From Patient to Practitioner - A Journey of Resilience, Recovery & Real Talk
When you first meet Raeya, you’d never guess the road she’s travelled.
She’s a clinician at Active Health Clinic, passionate about pacing, education and empowering people with invisible illnesses to reclaim their lives. But her journey here isn’t just professional-it’s deeply personal.
This is Raeya’s story. One of loss, learning, and the slow, powerful return to health.
The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Raeya’s journey began at just 14, after a bout of glandular fever left her with relentless, unexplained fatigue. A high-achieving student and netballer, she pushed through the exhaustion, hoping it would pass. But it didn’t.
Instead, she was passed from doctor to doctor-told she was hormonal, moody, or simply stressed. It took nearly a year and eight doctors before someone uttered the words that would shift her world: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
Even then, her diagnosis was unofficial, and support was scarce. Like so many others with invisible illnesses, Raeya was left navigating a life-altering condition with little guidance, less compassion, and a lot of trial and error.
School, Symptoms & Struggle
By 16, Raeya was admitted to an inpatient fatigue rehabilitation program. In that hospital setting-with structure, predictability, and support-she felt somewhat better. But the real test came when she returned to school.
What followed was a spiral: boom-and-bust cycles, misunderstood symptoms, academic pressure, and even bullying by teachers who dismissed her illness. Her health declined rapidly. At her worst, Raeya was bedbound up to 20 hours a day, living off tea and fleeting determination.
She pushed through school, did everything “right,” and still got sicker. It was only later that she understood: it wasn’t about doing more. It was about doing things differently.
The Turning Point
After dropping out of school and exploring careers that didn’t light her up, Raeya stumbled upon a program run by someone who had also lived through chronic fatigue. For the first time, she saw someone who had recovered. And something inside her shifted: If they can do it, so can I.
She learned about pacing-really learned it. She started meal prepping, tracking her capacity, aligning rest to the right types of fatigue, and choosing herself. She stopped fighting her body and started listening to it.
And slowly, things began to change.
Becoming the Guide She Never Had
Driven by the desire to help others, Raeya became a certified health coach, wellness educator, and later pursued studies in exercise physiology-without even realising what an EP was at first! Her lived experience gave her deep empathy. Her education gave her the tools.
She joined Active Health Clinic-the very clinic that had written the original program she’d been exposed to years before. Full circle, in the most powerful way.
Here, she didn’t just find knowledge. She found understanding. She discovered why pacing worked, why her nervous system reacted the way it did, and how to support others with compassion and clarity.
What Recovery Looks Like (Hint: It’s Not Perfect)
Today, Raeya no longer meets the diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS or orthostatic intolerance. She still paces. She’s still mindful. But she’s thriving-living a full life, working full-time, raising a child, and showing up as both a clinician and a mentor.
She doesn’t promise quick fixes. She knows recovery/remission, or management, is messy, nonlinear, and personal. But she also knows that understanding your body is powerful, and that with the right tools, you can find a new version of healthy.
Raeya’s Top Takeaways for Anyone Starting This Journey
🛠️ “It’s not what you do-it’s how you do it.”
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Learn to understand your nervous system and how it responds to daily life.
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Pacing isn’t about restriction-it’s about permission to do things in a way that works for your body.
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The biggest wins come from consistency, not intensity.
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Build your own toolkit. Pick the right tools, when you need them, for your body.
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Health is a long game. You don’t fix everything in 16 weeks. You build your foundations for life.
Wrapping Things Up
Raeya embodies everything Active Health Clinic stands for-integrity, empathy, education and lived experience. She’s proof that understanding your health conditions, listening to your body, and pacing with purpose can change your life.
She’s been where you are. She knows the fear, the frustration, the hope, and the heartbreak. And now, she’s here to help you find your version of “better.”
Because invisible illness is real. And management, in your own way, is absolutely possible.
Let’s make the invisible visible, together.
As always, sending love & spoons,
Raeya, COO of AHC
(talking about herself in 3rd person is quite common)
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