Five years ago, TED Fellow Jennifer Brea became progressively ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating illness that severely impairs normal activities and on bad days makes even the rustling of bed sheets unbearable. In this poignant talk, Brea describes the obstacles she's encountered in seeking treatment for her condition, whose root causes and physical effects we don't fully understand, as well as her mission to document through film the lives of patients that medicine struggles to treat.

Jennifer Brea: What happens when you have a disease doctors can't diagnose

What happens when you have a disease doctors can't diagnose

At 28, a fever morphed into a medical odyssey, exposing a gap in our understanding of diseases like myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Despite millions suffering, myalgic encephalomyelitis research is underfunded, illustrating a profound neglect of complex diseases.

Hope thrives as emerging science seeks biological roots of ME, challenging historic biases and sparking a paradigm shift in research.