Film shows difficulties women with chronic fatigue face in getting care

Jennifer Brea wasn’t supposed to break down. But in 2011, her body did just that. The 28-year-old was on the verge of a Harvard PhD and a wedding, but a series of viral infections transformed her from an energetic young woman to a bedridden patient with a mystery illness.

Brea visited a long list of medical specialists — many of whom questioned whether she was sick at all.

Brea has myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME. Also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, the condition can mystify health-care providers and disable patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 2.5 million Americans suffer from the illness, 90 per cent of them undiagnosed.

“Unrest,” Brea’s intensely personal documentary about her journey through ME, asks why physicians still know so little about the disease. The film delves into Brea’s ordeal, her marriage and the lives of others whose health was stolen by a condition that can strip a person of dignity, mobility and hope for the future.

More women have ME than men, and Brea’s experience fighting for recognition from her doctors is central to the film’s narrative.

Brea, who directed the film largely from her bed, received a Special Jury Award from the Sundance Film Festival for her documentary. It’s available for rental and purchase on iTunes.