'I want my album to help people understand my ME'

A teenager has released a charity Christmas album after being diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), last year.

Harry Boulton, 17, was diagnosed with chronic fatigue in January 2024, following a viral infection.

He has released an album of classic Christmas tunes, called White Christmas, to raise money for people living with ME/CFS. He hopes his efforts will increase awareness of the severity of the condition.

"Christmas is my favourite time of year and what better way to raise money for charity," Harry said. "People don't understand CFS. It used to be a laugh and joke that people were 'just tired'. That needs to change".

According to the NHS, symptoms of ME/CFS include:

• Feeling extremely tired all the time (fatigue), which can make daily activities like taking a shower, or going to work or school, difficult
• Sleep problems, including insomnia, sleeping too much, feeling like you have not slept properly and feeling exhausted or stiff when you wake up
• Problems with thinking, concentration and memory (brain fog)
• Symptoms getting worse after physical or mental activity, and possibly taking weeks to get better (also called post-exertional malaise, or PEM)

Harry said when he was diagnosed last year he did not know much about the condition.

"No one seems to really understand it properly," he said. "Things are only just coming out just about now about possible cures for it and government spending - which to me, in 2025, is really shocking."

He said his symptoms of chronic fatigue began with a series of dizzy spells and fainting when he was in his GCSE year at school.

He says he had aspirations to go to sixth form college and take film studies at university, but was forced to leave mainstream education.

Not being able to do the same things as his peers has been challenging, he says - and, sometimes, depressing.

"A massive part of it is your mental health," Harry explained. "You feel so depressed really.

"I've been in sleeping patterns where I've woken up much later in the day, and you feel so down that you've not done anything, and of course I'm out of education so I'm not mixing very much.

"So that can be very difficult to deal with."

Despite this, Harry has made an effort to make the most out of life, doing one hour a week teaching at a local theatre group and still has plans to work in film or television, having recently written a sitcom with a friend.

"I've learned how to accept it and move on," he said. "It's still very difficult, don't get me wrong, but you've got to have a barrier for yourself and not be doom and gloom all the time."

After a releasing a cover of Frank Sinatra's That's Life earlier this year, Harry turned his efforts to his charity album for Christmas.

Since the release of White Christmas in November, Harry said it has been "really touching" to hear from other people who had, or whose family members had, the condition.

"I've had stories been told to me of people saying their daughters or their sons have got ME or chronic fatigue syndrome and that they'll be really touched to know that I'm raising awareness," he explained.

All proceeds from the album will go to the ME Association, a charity that provides research into the condition and support for people who have it.

Campaigns director Martine Ainsworth-Wells said Harry's "generosity and creativity will help bring joy to listeners during the festive season while making a real difference for those living with ME/CFS".

Harry said he would also like to help people who do not understand the condition.

"I think that people should be open to learning about it, because it could affect anybody."

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