In the spring of 2016, Judith Murphy was searching for answers. Ever since she contracted a flu-like illness two years before, she had been plagued by disabling symptoms, including extreme exhaustion, problems with memory and concentration, and sensitivity to light and sound. She couldn’t work and rarely felt well enough to go out.

She finally received a diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. When other approaches failed to improve her health, she learned through “a friend of a friend of a friend” about something called the Lightning Process — a three-day in-person course that could, purportedly, help people recover from the illness.

Murphy, 30, who lives in Bournemouth, England, and worked in childcare before becoming ill, had no idea what the Lightning Process was or how it was supposed to work. She enrolled anyway. Her mother drove her to the training, which took place in a quiet country setting about a half-hour away and included a few other patients. When she arrived, she was reassured by the trainer’s words. 

“She was like, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be better in a few days — you’ll be dancing out of here,’ all this wonderful-sounding stuff, so I was quite hopeful,” Murphy told me via WhatsApp.