When time stands still, but the clock ticks on.

What happens when chronic illness and burnout crash head-on? Welcome to 2026, it’s a new year, but the same tired you. Fatigue is real, for so many of us battling a chronic illness; somehow we’re stuck in time while the clock ticks on.

This kind of fatigue is not like what the bulk of the population experience. It’s not the type where a night or two of extra sleep will help. We don’t get better after a week’s holiday somewhere nice. We could sleep for years, decades, and we’re still exhausted. Simply put, our human battery’s broken, and it won’t recharge properly anymore.

That’s pretty much what happened here at Mind, Body and Spoons at the end of 2025. Our batteries went into the red, and after a long winter filled with illnesses, it’s taking some time to get up and moving again. Before we get into what’s install for 2026, we’d just like to acknowledge that living with a chronic illness isn’t straight-forward, it isn’t simply ‘do this, don’t do that, rest more’.

If only.

Everyday we navigate a moving obstacle course, a minefield of traps that hold untold surprises that mess with everything; our mental, physical, and emotional health. Some days it’s hard. We all struggle, and we experience a range of emotions within moments, with barely the energy to register them. Other days can be smoother, only a few speed-bumps. But these are rare. Most days it’s a fight just to survive.

So, let’s make it a fight worth the challenge. Here are MBaS we’re attempting to get back into a rhythm of posting Recipes and Mindful Moments both here and on Instagram, and launching cooking sessions on Zoom, and cooking tutorials on YouTube.

Same spoons, new pace, avoiding burnout with a chronic illness

How good does that look? Makes a nice change from the humdrum of what’s above it. So, let’s get down to it, here’s what we have in mind for 2026:

MBaS Workshops and Tutorials:

Summer 2026 – We’re going to be hosting regular cook-along sessions via YouTube. These sessions will be interactive, and you’re encouraged to participate at home. We’ll be making things like salad dressings, egg replacements for those on MCAS diets, and tasty bakes. Sessions will not be longer than 1hour/60mins.

Summer/Autumn – Mindful Moment Workshops, both online and in-person. These workshops will have guided meditations, mindful cooking, and practical suggestions on how to manage your daily spoons. These workshops will range in length, with shorter 1hr-90min cooking experiences, through to full-day/6hr in-person events with multiple workshops.

Beyond Summer – Retreats! Yes, you read it here first. We’re planning on hosting a range of retreats that could be as short as a weekend, Friday night – Sunday morning, through to 5-day/7-day escapes.

These retreats are still in the planning stages, but we hope to include activities such as guided meditations with Dr. Alice and invited guest leaders, nature walks, local hospitality and historical experiences, and of course in-house cooking workshops with Chef Kit, our chronic illness chef.

These retreats will be designed to be both restorative for those with fatigue, and also to help anyone with a chronic illness to manage burnout – preferably avoiding it, or finding a way through it.

Join us at Mind, Body and Spoons and our community living with chronic illness!

If you can relate to any of what’s been discussed on this post, living with a chronic illness, managing fatigue and trying to avoid getting burnout, then why not join our MBaS community?

It’s a safe space for you to be you, where everyone can relate to what it’s like navigating a life that doesn’t look like it does on tv. Check out our Facebook Group, and make sure you subscribe to this website! Sign up below, and you’ll get a free recipe too!