Blog Psychology today: Differentiating Fibromyalgia, Depression, and CFS

Sly Saint

Sly Saint

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Key points
  • Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic and widespread pain and tenderness throughout the body.
  • The overall stress of living with an invisible chronic illness such as fibromyalgia can take a toll on an individual’s mood and add to anger.
  • Neuroticism, which is often seen in individuals with fibromyalgia, is also known to play a role in developing depression.
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The relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome and depression
Chronic fatigue syndrome is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and is sometimes abbreviated as ME/CFS. The most recent term proposed is systemic exertional intolerance disease (SEID). It is characterized by unexplained extreme fatigue lasting for at least six months in duration that is not explained by any other underlying medical illness.
Other symptoms include:
  • Non-refreshing sleep
  • Difficulty with memory, focus, and concentration
  • Dizziness that worsens with moving from lying down or sitting to standing
  • Enlarged lymph nodes
  • Headaches
  • Sore throat
  • Unexplained muscle/joint pain
Persistent fatigue, painful physical symptoms, sleep disturbances, poor concentration, psychomotor retardation, and decreased libido are characteristic features of both depression and chronic fatigue syndrome. As a result, individuals may be misdiagnosed with one or the other or both.
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https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/...fferentiating-fibromyalgia-depression-and-cfs

I didn't read any further because if they still haven't got to grips with the diagnostic criteria.......
 
As far as I remember, they seem to generally or -always?- use “unexplained” at the “muscle and joint pain” bit. But not usually for the others.

This is an illness of unknown aetiology, so either all main symptoms are unexplained or all are explained sufficiently -to be on the list without this qualification- by being symptoms of this illness?
 
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That is an astonishingly superficial, ignorant and just plain wrong article. I don't know why I go on being shocked at the low level of knowledge and lack of curiosity to dig properly into a topic of people writing articles like this.

Mind you, I should have guessed it would be like this from the way the author chooses to introduce herself at the top of the article:
Kristen Fuller, M.D.
Happiness Is a State of Mind

If you click on the link it takes you to a whole series of no doubt equally superficial articles and says:
Kristen Fuller, M.D., is a physician and a clinical mental health writer for Center For Discovery.
 
Trish said:
That is an astonishingly superficial, ignorant and just plain wrong article. I don't know why I go on being shocked at the low level of knowledge and lack of curiosity to dig properly into a topic of people writing articles like this.

Mind you, I should have guessed it would be like this from the way the author chooses to introduce herself at the top of the article:
Kristen Fuller, M.D.
Happiness Is a State of Mind

If you click on the link it takes you to a whole series of no doubt equally superficial articles and says:
Kristen Fuller, M.D., is a physician and a clinical mental health writer for Center For Discovery.
Click to expand...
S

Could be she dropped out of medicine to take on this junk writing gig. So superficial and false.
 
Trish said:
That is an astonishingly superficial, ignorant and just plain wrong article. I don't know why I go on being shocked at the low level of knowledge and lack of curiosity to dig properly into a topic of people writing articles like this.

Mind you, I should have guessed it would be like this from the way the author chooses to introduce herself at the top of the article:
Kristen Fuller, M.D.
Happiness Is a State of Mind

If you click on the link it takes you to a whole series of no doubt equally superficial articles and says:
Kristen Fuller, M.D., is a physician and a clinical mental health writer for Center For Discovery.
Click to expand...
Self styled ‘successful clinical writer in the mental health realm’ :whistle:
 
Unfortunate head injury, left the practice of medicine, re-fashioning her career? Only a supposition. A fictional attempt at explaining the ass content.

I wish (for 2022) among other things, to not read the word "depression" in the same sentence with FM or ME/CFS.

Is it too much to ask? That would put me in better mood.
 
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