Last month, Sport England and a number of partnering charities launched a new campaign aimed at people living with long-term health conditions. We Are Undefeatable, they called it – making a statement on behalf of the millions of people living with these illnesses in the UK.

As a member of the long-term ill population myself, it seems about time to share my own story of physical fitness and chronic illness: one I don’t particularly like to think about too much these days, but which accurately reflects my apprehensions about this new scheme.

I was diagnosed with my long-term illness, ME/CFS, at the age of 19. However, my symptoms first began appearing in a much milder form during my early teens, after glandular fever and a severe anaphylactic shock sent my immune system into crisis. Each time I approached my childhood GP, trying to find the words for the debilitating fatigue and pain were gradually gaining control over my everyday life – the cause of these symptoms was very much placed on myself.