ALPIMS • Your feelings
Your feelings & wellbeing
We use the NIH Your Healthiest Self: Emotional Wellness Toolkit as a starting point, then adapt its suggestions to your capacity, conditions and support needs.
You do not have to feel calm or positive to deserve care.
Open one topic. Choose what feels useful today.
NIH starting points are brief summaries. ALPIMS adaptations are our additions.
Build resilience
NIH starting point
Draw on supportive relationships, meaningful activities
and manageable habits to help cope with difficulties.
Explore practical guides
Reduce stress
NIH starting point
Set priorities, seek support and make time for
activities that help you unwind.
Explore practical guides
Get quality sleep
NIH starting point
Support sleep with a regular routine and a suitable
sleep environment.
Explore practical guides
Be mindful
NIH starting point
Practise noticing the present moment, with attention
to what you are experiencing.
Explore practical guides
Cope with loss
NIH starting point
Allow space for grief, seek support and attend to
everyday needs while coping with loss.
Explore practical guides
Strengthen social connections
NIH starting point
Build supportive relationships and ask for help
when you need it.
Explore practical guides
ALPIMS adaptations — make the tips fit you
Choose one small support. You do not need to do everything.
Fit your capacity: shorten activities, take breaks or ask for practical help. With post-exertional malaise (PEM), emotional and social effort also count.
Make it comfortable: choose a supported position and adjust noise, light, scents or other surroundings to your needs.
Make it feel safe: mindfulness can be brief, with eyes open and a familiar external object. Adapt or stop practices that increase distress.
Make connection easier: try text, quiet company, predictable contact or help with one task.
Who may these adaptations help?
People with fatigue or PEM (including ME/CFS and some people with Long COVID); pain, migraine or joint hypermobility; POTS or dysautonomia; MCAS, asthma, allergies or environmental sensitivity; autism, ADHD or sensory differences; and trauma, anxiety, depression or burnout.
Needs vary. These are ways to make wellness suggestions more accessible, not treatments for every condition. Follow your individual care plan. Physical symptoms should not automatically be attributed to emotions.
Emotional support can accompany care for physical conditions. It does not mean physical symptoms are caused by emotions, or that emotional wellness practices cure ALPIMS-related conditions.
Source & care note
General information, not individual medical advice. Follow your care plan. NIH has not reviewed or endorsed these ALPIMS adaptations.
NIH Emotional Wellness Toolkit ↗
NICE: ME/CFS energy management ↗
If you feel unsafe or may harm yourself, seek urgent support. In Australia, call 000 for immediate danger, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 for crisis support.
ALPIMS • Your feelings
Your feelings & wellbeing
We use the NIH Your Healthiest Self: Emotional Wellness Toolkit as a starting point, then adapt its suggestions to your capacity, conditions and support needs.
You do not have to feel calm or positive to deserve care.
Open one topic. Choose what feels useful today.
NIH starting points are brief summaries. ALPIMS adaptations are our additions.
Build resilience
NIH starting point
Draw on supportive relationships, meaningful activities
and manageable habits to help cope with difficulties.
ALPIMS adaptation
Resilience can mean receiving help, reducing demands
or protecting recovery. With burnout, depression, pain
or ME/CFS, avoid turning coping into another performance
target. You do not have to find a positive side to
every experience.
ALPIMS supports
With ME/CFS, Long COVID or burnout, protect recovery
and ask for practical help. With pain or joint
hypermobility, choose comfortable activities.
With autism or ADHD, use predictable support
and help with planning.
Explore practical guides
Reduce stress
NIH starting point
Set priorities, seek support and make time for
activities that help you unwind.
ALPIMS adaptation
Consider physical, sensory and practical load alongside
emotions. Reduce one demand or ask for help.
Exercise and relaxation suggestions need to fit PEM,
pain and autonomic symptoms; do not push through
worsening symptoms.
ALPIMS supports
For sensory sensitivity or migraine, reduce noise,
light or other triggers you recognise.
With MCAS, asthma or environmental sensitivity,
choose a setting and products you tolerate.
With POTS or dysautonomia, use a comfortable position
and follow your symptom care plan.
Explore practical guides
Get quality sleep
NIH starting point
Support sleep with a regular routine and a suitable
sleep environment.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose a flexible routine that fits illness and sensory
needs. Ongoing pain, insomnia or sleep apnoea may need
specific treatment. Rest can still be useful when sleep
is difficult; poor sleep is not a personal failure.
ALPIMS supports
For pain, hypermobility or TMJ concerns, use comfortable
positioning that fits your care advice.
For sensory sensitivity, adapt light, sound and bedding.
Ask for care for persistent sleep problems, including
sleep apnoea; keep routines flexible during illness.
Explore practical guides
Be mindful
NIH starting point
Practise noticing the present moment, with attention
to what you are experiencing.
ALPIMS adaptation
Use an external anchor such as a familiar object or a
sound you tolerate. Eyes can stay open. Body-focused
or breathing practices can be uncomfortable with trauma,
panic or sensory sensitivity; adapt or stop if
distress increases.
ALPIMS supports
With PTSD or panic, try a brief, eyes-open practice
using a safe external object.
With autism or sensory sensitivity, choose an anchor
you tolerate. With pain or PEM, keep it short
and supported; pause if it increases symptoms.
Explore practical guides
Cope with loss
NIH starting point
Allow space for grief, seek support and attend to
everyday needs while coping with loss.
ALPIMS adaptation
Grief can also relate to lost health, roles or
relationships; this extends the NIH bereavement topic.
There is no required timetable. Ask for practical help,
and seek care if distress or daily functioning becomes
difficult to manage.
ALPIMS supports
With chronic illness, pain or burnout, make room for
grief about changed health, roles or capacity.
Ask for help with meals, appointments or daily tasks.
With trauma or depression, choose safe support
and professional care when needed.
Explore practical guides
Strengthen social connections
NIH starting point
Build supportive relationships and ask for help
when you need it.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose safe, respectful contact that fits your energy
and communication needs: a short message, quiet company
or practical help. Connection does not require masking,
frequent outings or staying in harmful relationships.
ALPIMS supports
With ME/CFS or PEM, keep contact within your energy limits.
With autism, ADHD or auditory processing differences,
try text or predictable, quiet contact.
With pain or hypermobility, choose a comfortable setting;
with MCAS or sensitivities, agree on products
and surroundings you tolerate.
Explore practical guides
Adapt support to your ALPIMS domains
Open only the part that fits today. These are examples from the domains, not a diagnostic checklist.
Anxiety & autonomic
Examples: Anxiety, panic symptoms, POTS, dysautonomia, orthostatic intolerance, sleep disturbance and non-allergic rhinitis.
What may help: A comfortable position, fewer demands and a gentle routine. Follow your physical symptom care plan too. A racing heart or dizziness should not automatically be labelled anxiety.
Laxity & connective tissue
Examples: Joint hypermobility, HSD, Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, Marfan syndrome, TMJ/TMD and musculoskeletal pain.
What may help: Supported positioning and comfortable activities. Adapt movement to your joints and individual care advice; relaxation does not require stretching.
Pain & bodily sensitivity
Examples: Fibromyalgia, chronic or neuropathic pain, CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, back or pelvic pain, vulvodynia and bladder pain syndrome.
What may help: Comfort, practical help and shorter activities. Emotional support can help you cope while pain receives appropriate care.
Immune & inflammatory
Examples: MCAS, allergies, asthma, ME/CFS, Long COVID, post-viral illness, coeliac disease, IBS/gut symptoms, autoimmune conditions and environmental sensitivity/MCS. These have different causes; this grouping does not make them equivalent.
What may help: A setting and products you tolerate, help during flares and support that fits your energy. With post-exertional malaise (PEM), emotional and social effort also count. Shorten or pause activities; do not push through worsening symptoms. Follow condition-specific care plans.
Mood & mental health
Examples: Depression, PTSD or trauma, emotional regulation difficulties, chronic illness distress and burnout.
What may help: Validation, safe company or one small practical support. Adapt grounding to what feels safe. Persistent or severe distress deserves professional care.
Sensory & neurodevelopmental
Examples: Autism, ADHD, sensory sensitivity, misophonia, hyperacusis, visual snow, auditory processing differences, executive function difficulties and vestibular sensitivity.
What may help: Less sensory input, predictable contact and one instruction at a time. Text, quiet company or help starting a task may suit better than conversation or group activities.
Support may make daily life more manageable without treating the underlying condition. You do not need every suggestion.
Emotional support can accompany care for physical conditions. It does not mean physical symptoms are caused by emotions, or that emotional wellness practices cure ALPIMS-related conditions.
Source & care note
General information, not individual medical advice. Follow your care plan. NIH has not reviewed or endorsed these ALPIMS adaptations.
NIH Emotional Wellness Toolkit ↗
NICE: ME/CFS energy management ↗
If you feel unsafe or may harm yourself, seek urgent support. In Australia, call 000 for immediate danger, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 for crisis support.
ALPIMS • Your feelings
Your feelings & wellbeing
We use the NIH Your Healthiest Self: Emotional Wellness Toolkit as a starting point, then adapt its suggestions to your capacity, conditions and support needs.
You do not have to feel calm or positive to deserve care.
Open one topic. Choose what feels useful today.
NIH starting points are brief summaries. ALPIMS adaptations are our additions.
Build resilience
NIH starting point
Draw on supportive relationships, meaningful activities
and manageable habits to help cope with difficulties.
ALPIMS adaptation
Resilience can mean receiving help, reducing demands
or protecting recovery. With burnout, depression, pain
or ME/CFS, avoid turning coping into another performance
target. You do not have to find a positive side to
every experience.
Explore practical guides
Reduce stress
NIH starting point
Set priorities, seek support and make time for
activities that help you unwind.
ALPIMS adaptation
Consider physical, sensory and practical load alongside
emotions. Reduce one demand or ask for help.
Exercise and relaxation suggestions need to fit PEM,
pain and autonomic symptoms; do not push through
worsening symptoms.
Explore practical guides
Get quality sleep
NIH starting point
Support sleep with a regular routine and a suitable
sleep environment.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose a flexible routine that fits illness and sensory
needs. Ongoing pain, insomnia or sleep apnoea may need
specific treatment. Rest can still be useful when sleep
is difficult; poor sleep is not a personal failure.
Explore practical guides
Be mindful
NIH starting point
Practise noticing the present moment, with attention
to what you are experiencing.
ALPIMS adaptation
Use an external anchor such as a familiar object or a
sound you tolerate. Eyes can stay open. Body-focused
or breathing practices can be uncomfortable with trauma,
panic or sensory sensitivity; adapt or stop if
distress increases.
Explore practical guides
Cope with loss
NIH starting point
Allow space for grief, seek support and attend to
everyday needs while coping with loss.
ALPIMS adaptation
Grief can also relate to lost health, roles or
relationships; this extends the NIH bereavement topic.
There is no required timetable. Ask for practical help,
and seek care if distress or daily functioning becomes
difficult to manage.
Explore practical guides
Strengthen social connections
NIH starting point
Build supportive relationships and ask for help
when you need it.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose safe, respectful contact that fits your energy
and communication needs: a short message, quiet company
or practical help. Connection does not require masking,
frequent outings or staying in harmful relationships.
Explore practical guides
Adapt support to your ALPIMS domains
Open only the part that fits today. These are examples from the domains, not a diagnostic checklist.
Anxiety & autonomic
Examples: Anxiety, panic symptoms, POTS, dysautonomia, orthostatic intolerance, sleep disturbance and non-allergic rhinitis.
What may help: A comfortable position, fewer demands and a gentle routine. Follow your physical symptom care plan too. A racing heart or dizziness should not automatically be labelled anxiety.
Laxity & connective tissue
Examples: Joint hypermobility, HSD, Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, Marfan syndrome, TMJ/TMD and musculoskeletal pain.
What may help: Supported positioning and comfortable activities. Adapt movement to your joints and individual care advice; relaxation does not require stretching.
Pain & bodily sensitivity
Examples: Fibromyalgia, chronic or neuropathic pain, CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, back or pelvic pain, vulvodynia and bladder pain syndrome.
What may help: Comfort, practical help and shorter activities. Emotional support can help you cope while pain receives appropriate care.
Immune & inflammatory
Examples: MCAS, allergies, asthma, ME/CFS, Long COVID, post-viral illness, coeliac disease, IBS/gut symptoms, autoimmune conditions and environmental sensitivity/MCS. These have different causes; this grouping does not make them equivalent.
What may help: A setting and products you tolerate, help during flares and support that fits your energy. With post-exertional malaise (PEM), emotional and social effort also count. Shorten or pause activities; do not push through worsening symptoms. Follow condition-specific care plans.
Mood & mental health
Examples: Depression, PTSD or trauma, emotional regulation difficulties, chronic illness distress and burnout.
What may help: Validation, safe company or one small practical support. Adapt grounding to what feels safe. Persistent or severe distress deserves professional care.
Sensory & neurodevelopmental
Examples: Autism, ADHD, sensory sensitivity, misophonia, hyperacusis, visual snow, auditory processing differences, executive function difficulties and vestibular sensitivity.
What may help: Less sensory input, predictable contact and one instruction at a time. Text, quiet company or help starting a task may suit better than conversation or group activities.
Support may make daily life more manageable without treating the underlying condition. You do not need every suggestion.
Emotional support can accompany care for physical conditions. It does not mean physical symptoms are caused by emotions, or that emotional wellness practices cure ALPIMS-related conditions.
Source & care note
General information, not individual medical advice. Follow your care plan. NIH has not reviewed or endorsed these ALPIMS adaptations.
NIH Emotional Wellness Toolkit ↗
NICE: ME/CFS energy management ↗
If you feel unsafe or may harm yourself, seek urgent support. In Australia, call 000 for immediate danger, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 for crisis support.
ALPIMS • Your feelings
Your feelings & wellbeing
We use the NIH Your Healthiest Self: Emotional Wellness Toolkit as a starting point, then adapt its suggestions to your capacity, conditions and support needs.
You do not have to feel calm or positive to deserve care.
Open one topic. Choose what feels useful today.
NIH starting points are brief summaries. ALPIMS adaptations are our additions.
Build resilience
NIH starting point
Draw on supportive relationships, meaningful activities
and manageable habits to help cope with difficulties.
ALPIMS adaptation
Resilience can mean receiving help, reducing demands
or protecting recovery. With burnout, depression, pain
or ME/CFS, avoid turning coping into another performance
target. You do not have to find a positive side to
every experience.
Explore practical guides
Reduce stress
NIH starting point
Set priorities, seek support and make time for
activities that help you unwind.
ALPIMS adaptation
Consider physical, sensory and practical load alongside
emotions. Reduce one demand or ask for help.
Exercise and relaxation suggestions need to fit PEM,
pain and autonomic symptoms; do not push through
worsening symptoms.
Explore practical guides
Get quality sleep
NIH starting point
Support sleep with a regular routine and a suitable
sleep environment.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose a flexible routine that fits illness and sensory
needs. Ongoing pain, insomnia or sleep apnoea may need
specific treatment. Rest can still be useful when sleep
is difficult; poor sleep is not a personal failure.
Explore practical guides
Be mindful
NIH starting point
Practise noticing the present moment, with attention
to what you are experiencing.
ALPIMS adaptation
Use an external anchor such as a familiar object or a
sound you tolerate. Eyes can stay open. Body-focused
or breathing practices can be uncomfortable with trauma,
panic or sensory sensitivity; adapt or stop if
distress increases.
Explore practical guides
Cope with loss
NIH starting point
Allow space for grief, seek support and attend to
everyday needs while coping with loss.
ALPIMS adaptation
Grief can also relate to lost health, roles or
relationships; this extends the NIH bereavement topic.
There is no required timetable. Ask for practical help,
and seek care if distress or daily functioning becomes
difficult to manage.
Explore practical guides
Strengthen social connections
NIH starting point
Build supportive relationships and ask for help
when you need it.
ALPIMS adaptation
Choose safe, respectful contact that fits your energy
and communication needs: a short message, quiet company
or practical help. Connection does not require masking,
frequent outings or staying in harmful relationships.
Explore practical guides
Emotional support can accompany care for physical conditions. It does not mean physical symptoms are caused by emotions, or that emotional wellness practices cure ALPIMS-related conditions.
Source & care note
General information, not individual medical advice. Follow your care plan. NIH has not reviewed or endorsed these ALPIMS adaptations.
NIH Emotional Wellness Toolkit ↗
If you feel unsafe or may harm yourself, seek urgent support. In Australia, call 000 for immediate danger, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 for crisis support.
