Kekezza Reece

I was a business mentor and professional photographer when I first became ill. Myalgic

Encephalomyelitis stopped me in my tracks and I have spent the last decade learning how to

accept my own body and how to adapt the life I want so I can still do the things which bring

me joy. I thought it had come out of nowhere, but when I looked back all the signs of

burnout where clearly visible.

I spent most of my life on the outside, wired differently and highly sensitive. I had failed

where everyone had assumed I’d flourish and struggled with seemingly easy tasks. I was

diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 2006. A difficult childhood, sexual

abuse, and then an abusive marriage led me to fall down, and I fell hard. By 2011 I was

struggling with my energy levels, and everything was taking so much more energy and

attention that I was burnt out. The doctor diagnosed M.E. and told me to only do the

activities I enjoyed, and then build my activities back up again. Impossible for a parent of

disabled children, and someone with such an impulse to thrive. By 2013 I was a part time

wheelchair user, and my health still wasn’t stabilising. No one had any answers and the

constant boom bust cycle was causing horrendous deterioration of my illness every month.

I was finally diagnosed with combined ADHD, with suspected autism at 43. It was the key as

to why I was struggling to manage my M.E. along with why so much of my life felt surreal. I

was working so incredibly hard, but not moving forward. I spent the next year on an

emotional rollercoaster trying to unpick my memories through the new lens of

neurodivergence. So many answers suddenly apparent, yet so few techniques and options

to improve without medication. I can take ADHD meds some of the time, but they tip my

body into a sensory overload, and then my M.E. crashes. I needed to find a mix of

techniques I could use, that would work with ADHD, Autism, having a chronic illness, and

also perimenopause.

These are what I use in my coaching practice. A mix of coaching and mentoring techniques

adapted to suit each individual person.

I work with each person to adapt to their needs,

particularly unpicking late neurodivergent diagnoses, how they affect their life and then to

explore their executive functions to see where to adapt, and where to strengthen.