In this week’s Friday Fable, we meet Jill — a woman living in a village that never stops ringing its bells.
At first, the sounds meant life and joy… but over time, they became overwhelming.
Until Jill learns that peace doesn’t always come from silencing the world — but from learning when to step away and listen to her own rhythm again.
A gentle, comforting story for anyone who’s ever felt overstimulated, exhausted, or in need of quiet.
💫 Take a breath, settle in, and let this story remind you that even in a noisy world, you can still find calm.
Ever feel like your body is running on too many tabs at once? In this episode, we dive into the science behind overstimulation and why people with POTS and dysautonomia often feel overwhelmed by noise, light, or even emotions.
We’ll talk about what’s actually happening inside your nervous system, how research links autonomic dysregulation to sensory overload, and most importantly — practical ways to calm your system down when everything feels “too much.”
✨ Inside this episode:
Why your body misreads normal input as “danger”
How nervous system overload affects focus, fatigue, and heart rate
Grounding and sensory reset tools you can use right now
Because calming your body isn’t weakness — it’s regulation. 💗
🎙️ Hosted by Tove Wood — bringing science, empathy, and a little sparkle to chronic illness conversations.
In this first Sunday Session, I share a story I haven’t thought about in years — a moment during my second IVIG treatment that taught me what it truly means to be your own advocate.
This episode explores mental health resilience, the balance between trust and self-advocacy, and why caring for your mind is just as vital as caring for your body.
A gentle reminder that even when the system falls short, you still have power in your own healing journey. 💫
When Anna’s body slows to a crawl, she feels like she’s sinking beneath the waves — her energy gone, her plans adrift. But as she learns to float instead of fight, she discovers that stillness isn’t failure… it’s a different kind of strength. 🌊✨
This gentle fable explores what it feels like to experience a flare — the frustration, the quiet, and the courage it takes to rest. Inspired by the clinical episode “From Flare to Functional: How to Pace Without Feeling Like You’ve Quit.”
💖 Listen, breathe, and remember: stillness is part of the story too.
#FridayFables #TheDizzyDiaries #POTS #ChronicIllness #FlareLife
Pacing isn’t giving up — it’s strategy. ✨
In this episode, we explore the art and science of pacing when you live with POTS or dysautonomia — how to find your rhythm between movement, rest, and recovery without falling into the guilt trap of “doing less.”
We cover:
💫 Why overdoing it leads to post-exertional crashes
🩺 How symptom tracking, pacing schedules, and heart rate monitoring can help
🧠 The mental side of pacing — from guilt to self-compassion
💖 Why pacing is one of the most powerful tools for regaining function and confidence
Because learning your limits isn’t weakness — it’s wisdom.
✨ Pacing isn’t the pause before progress — it is progress.
🎙️ Hosted by Tové — Exercise Physiologist, chronic illness advocate, and your POTS bestie.
Sage once loved the sparkle of festive gatherings, but chronic illness left her feeling like a guest trapped in her own body. In this gentle tale, she learns that joy doesn’t mean doing it all — it means choosing moments that matter, pacing her energy, and finding magic in presence over pressure.
If the busy season has you feeling stretched thin, let this fable remind you that rest, boundaries, and mindful choices can bring the glow back to your celebrations.
Stay sparkly ✨
Living with a chronic illness means your life doesn’t always run at the same pace as others — and that can feel isolating, especially during busy seasons like the end of the year. In this episode of The Dizzy Diaries, we dive into the mental health side of chronic illness: fighting comparison, embracing your current season, and learning how to adjust your expectations with compassion.
We’ll explore practical tools to help you finish the year with more ease:
✨ Auditing your rituals and routines
✨ Protecting your energy during social events
✨ Communicating with friends and family about what you can do
✨ Creating recovery time around festive gatherings
This conversation is about resilience, kindness to yourself, and reminding you that your season — whatever it looks like — still holds meaning and joy.
In a small coastal town, a magical lantern once lit up the harbour with a brilliant glow. But as time passed, its light began to flicker unpredictably. Fearing it was broken, the lantern lost hope — until a wise fisherman showed it that shining in short bursts, with periods of rest, could be just as powerful as burning endlessly.
This gentle fable is a metaphor for fatigue and energy budgeting in chronic illness. It’s about learning to pace, rest, and choose where to shine, rather than feeling like you have to keep burning at full brightness all the time.
✨ What you’ll hear in this episode:
– A soothing story about a lantern learning to glow wisely
– A metaphor for fatigue, pacing, and spoon theory
– A reminder that your light is still magic, even when it flickers
Hi, I’m Tové — your POTS bestie 💖 This is Friday Fables, where stories and science meet with a spoonful of sparkle.
Living with POTS or dysautonomia often means relying on three simple but powerful tools: salt, water, and compression. But what do they actually do inside the body — and how can you make them work for you without feeling overwhelmed?
In this episode of The Dizzy Diaries, we dive into:
Why salt helps your body hold onto blood volume
The science behind hydration and the “osmopressor response”
How compression garments reduce blood pooling and dizziness
Easy, practical tips to make these strategies part of everyday life
Whether you’re newly diagnosed or looking for fresh ideas, this episode will help you understand the why behind these tried-and-true tools — and give you practical ways to use them with confidence.
✨ Stay sparkly, and remember — small changes can make a big difference.
Prince Elliot is trapped inside a castle filled with a thousand locked doors. Each visitor brings him a new key, promising it will be the one to set him free. But no matter how many he tries, the doors never stay open for long—until he learns the power of keeping track, noticing patterns, and creating his own map through the maze.
This gentle fable is a metaphor for the medical mystery of chronic illness and the exhausting trial-and-error journey of finding what helps. It’s for anyone who has ever felt lost in a blur of treatments, tests, or advice—and needed the reminder that persistence, self-advocacy, and small wins matter.
💫 What to expect:
– A magical story about navigating trial and error in chronic illness
– A metaphor for persistence, tracking, and noticing patterns
– A reminder that progress isn’t linear, but your efforts aren’t wasted
Hi, I’m Tové — your POTS bestie — and this is Friday Fables, where stories and science meet with a spoonful of sparkle. Let’s begin.
Cardio exercise can feel terrifying when you live with POTS or dysautonomia — but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, we break down what safe cardiovascular training really looks like, why it matters, and how to start gently improving your tolerance without pushing your body past its limits.
Inside this episode, we cover:
Why cardiovascular health is essential for people with POTS
How exercise supports oxygen delivery, circulation, and nervous system regulation
How to find your starting level using RPE and symptom scales
Three safe approaches to build tolerance:
1️⃣ Recumbent exercise — perfect for starting from zero
2️⃣ Walking & gentle intervals — including the trending Japanese method
3️⃣ BACPR-style circuits — cardiac rehab principles adapted for POTS
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to rebuild your capacity, this episode is here to help you move safely, steadily, and sustainably — with a little bit of sparkle along the way. ✨
💡 For more guidance on the BACPR model and gentle, science-backed principles for exercising with POTS, check out my resource here:
The Science-Backed Exercise Guide for POTS
Theme: Brain Fog & Cognitive Fatigue
Ever felt like your thoughts are moving through honey? Like the words are there, but they slip through your fingers before you can catch them?
In this Friday Fable, follow Elara into a mysterious library where clocks tick slowly, sentences rearrange themselves, and time bends under the weight of brain fog. Through hidden doors and quiet paths, she discovers the secret tools to navigate cognitive fatigue — grounding, pacing, and permission to rest.
If you’ve ever struggled with POTS, dysautonomia, or chronic illness, this story is for you. A reminder that even when your mind feels hazy and slow, there are still gentle ways forward.
🕰️ Sometimes, healing isn’t about pushing harder — it’s about finding the hidden shortcuts.
Stay Sparkly, Tove'.
Ever feel like your brain is buffering while the world moves at full speed? Living with POTS and dysautonomia can make even the simplest moments — standing up, focusing on a conversation, walking across a room — feel impossible.
In this episode, we break down:
Why brain fog happens in POTS — from poor blood flow to the brain to nervous system dysregulation
How balance gets affected
Practical strategies to ground yourself, manage symptoms, and support cognitive function
“It’s like living in a body that forgot to pay its WiFi bill.”
This is your safe corner to feel understood and supported, with a mix of science, practical tips, and a reminder that you’re not alone in this dizzy, foggy journey.
Grab my book here: https://amzn.eu/d/eSRZ8aC
In the village of Virelle, every tiny breeze sets off a blaring alarm. The townspeople live in a constant state of alert, exhausted and overwhelmed by warning bells that never seem to stop. But when a mysterious traveller arrives, she teaches them how to reset their systems—not by fighting the alarms, but by listening to them with compassion.
This story is a gentle metaphor for an overactive autonomic nervous system, anxiety, and dysautonomia. If your body feels like it’s always on high alert—even when nothing’s wrong—this fable will feel like a breath of fresh air.
💫 What to expect:
– A calming story about nervous system dysregulation
– Practical metaphors for grounding, calming, and self-regulation
– A reminder that your body isn’t broken—it just needs safety signals
Hi, I’m Tové — your POTS bestie — and this is Friday Fables, where stories and science meet with a spoonful of sparkle.
When your heart races, your head spins, and standing feels like climbing Everest, the idea of exercising can sound impossible — or even dangerous. But here’s the truth: the right kind of movement can actually help retrain your body.
In this episode of The Dizzy Diaries, we dive into:
Why graded, safe exercise helps regulate blood flow and reduce dizziness
How movement supports neuroplasticity and nervous system regulation
Research-backed tips for pacing, compression gear, hydration, and floor-based exercises
Busting the myth that “all exercise is bad for POTS”
Whether you’re brand new to dysautonomia or rebuilding your tolerance, this episode gives you the science and practical strategies to move safely and confidently.
🎙️ Disclaimer: This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.
Princess Marisol wakes up each morning with grand plans—letters to write, cakes to bake, dreams to chase. But as soon as her day begins, her thoughts slip away, her energy drains, and time seems to vanish into mist. When she discovers an ancient hourglass and a guide who teaches her the art of gentle structure, she begins to reclaim her day… one glowing moment at a time.
This metaphorical fable is for anyone living with brain fog, fatigue, or chronic illness. If your days often disappear before they’ve even begun, this story will help you feel seen—and remind you that soft structure and self-compassion can bring clarity, even in the fog.
💫 What to expect:
– A whimsical metaphor for brain fog and executive dysfunction
– Gentle encouragement to work with your energy, not against it
– A magical story full of lanterns, lists, and quiet victories
Hi, I’m Tové — your POTS bestie — and this is Friday Fables, where stories and science meet with a spoonful of sparkle.
What does POTS really feel like?
In this episode of The Dizzy Diaries, Tové dives into the sensory and emotional experience of living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) — from heart-pounding moments to the crushing fatigue that comes out of nowhere.
We explore creative “feels like…” descriptions from the POTS community (including the unforgettable “Your heart’s a YouTube ad on repeat — fast, annoying, and unavoidable”), and then break down the science behind three of the most common symptoms: rapid heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue.
Drawing from research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Autonomic Neuroscience, and American Journal of Physiology, we uncover why POTS changes the way the body handles something as simple as standing — and why it’s anything but “just feeling dizzy.”
Whether you have POTS, know someone who does, or simply want to understand the condition better, this episode blends science, storytelling, and real-life experience to bring you into the world of living with an invisible illness.
Stay Sparkly!
Leo is the fastest boy in the valley—always running, always chasing the wind. But the faster he moves, the more a strange storm follows him home: dizziness, exhaustion, and a fog that won’t lift.
When he meets a wise old gardener who teaches him the art of slowing down, Leo begins to learn that balance—not speed—is the real path to freedom.
This story is a gentle metaphor for exercise intolerance and post-exertional symptoms in POTS and chronic illness. It’s for anyone who has ever felt like their body betrayed them when they tried to do just a little more.
💫 What to expect:
– A whimsical look at post-exertional crashes and pacing
– A gentle reminder that rest is not failure — it’s wisdom
– A magical tale to help explain the “invisible storm” of chronic fatigue
Hi, I’m Tové — your POTS bestie — and this is Friday Fables, where stories and science meet with a spoonful of sparkle.
Ever wondered why just looking at a staircase feels like a personal attack when you have POTS? In this episode, we break down the science behind why stairs are so challenging for people with dysautonomia — from blood pooling to heart rate spikes — and how to manage them like a pacing pro. I’ll share real-life tips to build stair tolerance (without tears), plus a few funny fails of my own.
💗 Let’s climb this one together — one step at a time.
In the very first episode of Friday Fables, meet a girl made of stardust — a girl who glimmered, even when the world told her to dim. But when chronic illness arrives like a shadow she can’t shake, her light begins to flicker… until she discovers that shining doesn’t always mean being bright — sometimes, it means simply being.
This gentle, metaphorical story explores identity, invisibility, and the quiet resilience of those living with chronic illness, POTS, or fatigue-based conditions. Whether you're struggling to feel seen or learning to honour your own pace, this one’s for you.
💫 What to expect:
– A magical story for anyone who feels a little lost in the fog
– Gentle encouragement to stay soft, even when things feel hard
– A reminder that your glimmer doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s
Hi, I’m Tové — your POTS bestie — and this is Friday Fables, where stories and science meet with a spoonful of sparkle.