Singer MARINA Reveals Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Battle: 'It's Been Hard to Remember What Healthy Feels Like'

The Welsh singer says that she believes “chronic stress” caused her illness

Singer MARINA announced she’s been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

“I’ve had symptoms like deep fatigue, numbness, tingling, low appetite, brain fog, rashes, insomnia and a feeling of being ‘poisoned’ for so long it’s been hard to remember what healthy feels like,” the Welsh singer-songwriter wrote.

MARINA — who first broke onto the UK music scene with the 2010 hit album The Family Jewels, recorded under her former stage name 'Marina and the Diamonds' — shared that she’s been struggling with fatigue for “a long time.”

“My baseline energy has been at 50 - 60%... Aside from a few periods of remission, the last 7 years have consisted of relying on adrenaline and will power to push me through each day.⁣”

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According to the Mayo Clinic, the disorder “causes extreme fatigue that lasts for at least six months. Symptoms worsen with physical or mental activity but don't fully improve with rest.”

Some sufferers also experience "headaches, sore throats, and tender lymph nodes in the neck or armpits." Sensitivity to light, sounds, smells, food and medicines have also been reported.

For MARINA, 37, her recovery “started 2 months ago after an unusually bad flare up that involved shooting pains and burning sensations all over my hands, legs and back. After seeing countless doctors, I started working with a functional medicine practitioner to find the root cause of the symptoms.”⁣

This isn't the first time MARINA has been outspoken about her health issues: She talked to PEOPLE in 2021 about her mental health struggles — and, in particular, how she addressed them in her music.

Related: Renowned Scientist's Son Describes His Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: 'A World of Pain, Loss and Agony'

"I felt so deeply depressed and so lost for a good two years that I tried everything to get out of it," she said, looking back on Love +Fear, her first album after dropping the stage name 'Marina and the Diamonds'. "Songs like 'Orange Trees' and 'Enjoy Your Life,' they were just desperate attempts to create happiness in my life because I didn't have it."

⁣In her Instagram post, the singer (full name: Marina Diamandis), opened up about how she believes her chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis diagnosis came to be.

“I now understand that these symptoms are a result of a hypersensitive nervous system, developed in response to chronic stress. ⁣My body has felt stuck in 'fight or flight' mode and there were many warning signs it gave me before the worst symptoms set in.”

Related: MARINA Shines Free and Heals from Heartbreak on Album 'Ancient Dreams' : 'You Have to Be Your Compass'

The Mayo Clinic confirms that "significant emotional stress" can indeed be a cause of chronic fatigue syndrome — along with genetics. People may also develop the syndrome following a bacterial or viral infection.

And while MARINA says she’s pulled back from her “creative life” as she focuses on her recovery — her last album was 2021’s Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land — she adds that she “worked for the first time in a while yesterday and it felt so good. 🩷”

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