| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Piano5 |
Posted - 02/21/2011 : 11:15:56
*Please see the bottom of this thread for an article in the NY times re: chronic fatigue syndrome and psychotherapy's positive effects upon the malady.*
A few threads have discussed the 'virus' that may be a factor in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and a few thoughtful contributors here have noted that the prevalence of a virus (concluded in two high-profile US studies) is not necessarily indicate causal relationship in the development of CFS. Bravo to them! An example of the pro-virus argument: the virus weakens the body, thus causing fatigue. Maybe. Without a clear causal relationship, it would be difficult to disprove another possible causal relationship: a disrupted mind can weaken/change the immune system, allowing the virus to reside in the body.
The link to the NY Times (A useful contributor to mind research but not highly privy to mind-body research, don't get me started on NPR, who had a report on Carpal Tunnel that was less than enlightening) above introduces a study done in Britain that suggests CFS patients are better off with psychotherapy and increased exercise regimens. Now, I will only comment on this one study. I'm not a medical expert, and drawing conclusions from one study is foolhardy. But, consider the following:
In the US, our economy is based upon risk and reward. This is obviously true for the health and drug sector, in which drug companies make huge investments in drugs and drug technology. If they create a successful one, they see rewards in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Fine. This free-market, mostly laissez-faire system has made the US the richest country in the world and allowed for a free (if not unjust) country. Combine this with a quick-fix society, in which our selves and our friends and family are afraid to expose their messy feelings about their rat-race lives to anyone, when they are bombarded with quick-fixes thanks to direct-to-consumer advertising and an almost total lack of acknowledgment of mind-body issues from the mainstream medical profession.
Onto this study: how interesting it is, that in Britain, in which their are no systems to reward the drug companies with billions and no doctors that see 40 patients per day in order to rack up their CPT codes, it is determined that cognitive behavioral therapy is a boon to CFS. It's a perfect analog to Sarno's example of the prevalence and non-prevalence of whip-lash in neighboring eastern European countries (I forget which ones) which had or lacked the systems in place for a car accident 'victim' to capitalize on the disability following a fender bender. With few/no systems in Britain to allow patients to take a magic pill and feel better in the morning, those that looked inside themselves to analyze their feelings and personality noticed improvements in their bodies.
If you read the comments section of the article, you'll a few groups of people: those people picking apart the study, those complaining of their debilitating CFS, and those unsympathetic to the diagnosis. I don't doubt that CFS exists on a biological basis in a small number of people, but one of my favorite comments is below:
"Why does this all sound like the sort of crowd that listens to Dr. Oz?... Eat some healthy food and get some exercise. Your body wasn't designed to run on Starbucks lattes, vending machine snacks and microwaveable dinners after 8 hours of sitting on your backside at a desk."
I'd love to hear some discussion from any and all, particularly those who may be health professionals or knowledgeable about health policy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/health/research/18fatigue.html?ref=health
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| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Back2-It |
Posted - 02/21/2011 : 14:55:05
quote:
I was struck down with this disease over 18 yrs ago at the peak of my life. My career, social life, my mothering of my children etc. all stopped on ONE day. One day I was totally healthy, happy and by the way an exercise buff, the next I was bedridden, unable to sit up, talk, think clearly etc. This was no depression! And even after 18 yrs of this disease, losing everything but my family, and being bedbound for the last few years, I am a very happy person. I've tried everything and the more I pushed the worse I became. My downfall was not in "wanting to be sick" or "not trying because of depression" My downfall was because I would not give up and kept pushing to be well. Pushing to be! I would trade places with all of you uninformed, judgemental people any day. You'd change your ignorant opinions and hurtful words on the spot. You have no idea what you are spewing. You have no idea how hurtful what you are thinking and sharing is to the almost 20 million people in the world who have been struck by this illness. Or maybe you do and you simply do not care.
I added the bold score in the quote from this poster after the article. I think it says something familiar. |
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