Technically fine. Actually, let's talk about that.

What this site is

Heard in the Fog is a small collection of articles for people close to someone with EDS, POTS, MCAS or dysautonomia, written so the person with the condition would be glad to forward them.

Each article takes one recognisable moment and looks at it from both sides: what it is like for the person with the condition, what it is like for the person beside them, and which words tend to help or sting.

Who writes it

Rob Hollis is a pen name. I use it to protect my family's privacy. There is no photo here and no biography, for the same reason.

I am not a doctor. I have been diagnosed with dysautonomia, and people in my family live with one or more of the conditions described here.

Why this website?

I started this site because I saw how it affected those around me and their struggles of dealing with ordinary day-to-day life.

It wasn't until quite recently, that I had a diagnosis of Dysautonomia myself, that I REALLY started looking into this amorphous mixture of conditions.

The articles are an attempt by me, a person with one of the conditions, to understand what's happening to me, and how I, and others, are affected and how it can affect those around us. This is in one of the articles, but when self-doubt about your own condition starts intruding, it's no surprise that others have their own doubts or questions about your condition.

I could go on but...

I invite you to contact me via email: hello@HeardInTheFog.com

How it is written

The articles are researched and drafted with the help of Claude, an AI assistant. Claude did the heavy-lifting in finding the studies, but the idea, the decisions and the responsibility are mine. The choices about what goes in and how it is said are mine, and they come from what I have watched and lived, not from medical training.

Where an article states a fact, it comes from a source that was opened and read, not from memory or a summary.

What it is not

Nothing on this site is medical advice. It does not tell anyone what to do about a symptom, a test, a medicine, a diet or an exercise. For any of that, the person to ask is their own doctor.

It is not a promise either. The hope is a calmer house, work environment and social scene with guilt and resentment named out loud and given less room. That is a hope, and it will not suit everyone.

The book

There is also a book with the same name: Heard in the Fog: A Plain-Language Guide to EDS, POTS, MCAS and Dysautonomia for Partners, Family and Friends. It is a separate plain-language guide. It is not these articles collected, and this site is not the book online.

Getting in touch

Feedback and criticism are welcome. Write to hello@HeardInTheFog.com.

I am NOT a doctor and I cannot and will not give medical advice, and I may not be able to reply to everything. There are no comments on the articles.