The Founder’s Desk: Volume 10
Written: October 16, 2026
Dear Friends,
October arrives with a specific kind of magic. The air turns crisp, leaves shift into brilliant ambers and deep reds, and the world seems to whisper invitations to bake pumpkin bread, wander through a local fall festival, or dive headfirst into cozy creative projects.
But for those of us living with chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, or relentless fatigue, October can also bring a very specific, wildly disorienting state of being.
It’s that exact moment where your physical body is hovering right on the edge of a flare—so thoroughly exhausted that it feels as though your mind is about to reach out and hit a master “blackout button” just to force a system reboot. Every muscle aches, your nervous system is humming on empty, and the low-battery warning has been flashing for hours.
Yet, at the exact same time, your brain is operating like a wide-eyed toddler at a candy counter.
It’s hyperactive, buzzing with ideas, and practically bouncing off the walls begging to do something. Let’s bake cinnamon cookies! Let’s pull out the craft supplies! Let’s go walk through the pumpkin patch! It’s a fierce, child-like demand for joy and creativity right in the middle of physical collapse.
If you are standing in that tension today, I want to tell you three things:
1. You Are Not Crazy—It’s “Tired & Wired”
In the chronic community, we often call this being wired and tired or experiencing a dopamine-seeking crash. When our bodies are pushing past their physical limits into flare territory, our central nervous system can spike into fight-or-flight overdrive. Meanwhile, our brains—knowing that pain or forced rest is coming—desperately seek a hit of joy, beauty, and engagement to buffer the weight of it all. Your mind isn’t broken for wanting to build, create, or celebrate fall while your body is begging for sleep; it’s simply trying to hold onto spark and wonder.
2. The Inner Toddler Needs Gentle Boundaries
When a toddler is completely overtired and demanding a lollipop, we don’t punish them—but we also don’t take them on an eight-hour road trip. We give them a soft blanket, validate how much fun they want to have, and help them rest.
Give that same grace to your hyperactive mind today. Acknowledge the deep desire to create and experience the season, but protect your physical body from total shutdown.
3. Compromise with Micro-Joy
You don’t have to choose between total deprivation and physical ruin. When you’re trapped between the blackout button and the urge to bake/explore, look for the smallest possible version of the impulse:
- Instead of baking three dozen cookies from scratch, sip a hot spiced cider or apple tea while resting on the couch.
- Instead of walking a giant fall festival, open a window to feel the cool autumn breeze, put on a festive ambient soundscape, or look at photo albums of past fall trips.
- Instead of starting a massive craft, spend five quiet minutes sketching, writing down a recipe, or listening to a cozy audiobook.
Living with chronic conditions means constantly navigating the space between what our spirits long to do and what our physical bodies can sustain. This autumn, as the season shifts, permit yourself to step back from the edge of the flare. The festivity, the art, and the baking will still be waiting for you when your battery recharges.
Until then, honor the rest your body is begging for, and hold gentle space for the vibrant, creative kid inside you who just wants to play.
With love and solidarity,
Amanda
Founder, Across the Years