George Monbiot on ME/CFS, PACE, BPS and Long Covid

rvallee said:
Odd. Not sure where this is published.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/oct/27/all-wound-up-about-changing-the-clocks
Jake Hollis (Guardian letter) said:
Further to my previous letter (22 October), I’d like to make clear that I do not defend the use of graded exercise therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy for ME/CFS. Like others with ME/CFS, I have found that following a fixed regime for increasing activity can lead to flare-ups of symptoms. By contrast, I have learned to listen to my body to check if and when I can handle new activities. I believe that this gradually helps the nervous system to become less reactive. In scientific terms, we can gradually help the brain cultivate a greater sense of “allostatic self-efficacy”, or confidence in the body’s capacity to handle demands placed on it. Over time, this can enable us to slowly move back into the world again and reclaim our lives.
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Absolute nonsense, of course.
 
I believe that this gradually helps the nervous system to become less reactive. In scientific terms, we can gradually help the brain cultivate a greater sense of “allostatic self-efficacy”, or confidence in the body’s capacity to handle demands placed on it. Over time, this can enable us to slowly move back into the world again and reclaim our lives.
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What on earth is he on about?

Edit: I googled it. Apparently it's about fatigue in depression, not ME/CFS
Allostatic Self-efficacy: A Metacognitive Theory of Dyshomeostasis-Induced Fatigue and Depression
 
In scientific terms
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Followed by not scientific terms that are really just a bunch of woowoo and are pretty much the exact same made-up explanations behind the CBT/GET paradigm, which he presents here with only slight variations on labels, which is what the psychosomatic paradigm is all about: obfuscation through bullshit.

Speaking of scientific terms: post. Latin for after. Well OK not scientific but commonly used to mean after in science.
By contrast, I have learned to listen to my body to check if and when I can handle new activities
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And here is basically the entire problem. That we never know. And only find out later. But, by contrast, I guess he knows better. It's "science" after all. Well, it's schmience, the latin term for pseudoscience*, but whatever.

* As long as you don't check ;)
 
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I’d personally like to make clear that I do not defend the use of “allostatic self-efficacy” practices. By contrast I use the ultra homotopic mind-body palace network-respiking-stabilising™ approach. In scientific terms we manage to reorganise ourselves, including a hyper-specialised focus on brain and nervous system network reorganisation, within 12 dimensions using advanced techniques from quantum neuroscience to help the brain overcome regional spiking problems which automatically induce a higher capacity load due to advanced optimisation techniques occurring in the right brain regions as we additionally enhance important feedback loops with our nervous system in a positive way as well as reduce inflammation globally and locally in wanted regions.
 
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EndME said:
I’d personally like to make clear that I do not defend the use of “allostatic self-efficacy” practices. By contrast I use the ultra homotopic mind-body palace network-respiking-stabilising™ approach. In scientific terms we manage to reorganise ourselves, including a hyper-specialised focus on brain and nervous system network reorganisation, within 12 dimensions using advanced techniques from quantum neuroscience to help the brain overcome regional spiking problems which automatically induce a higher capacity load due to advanced optimisation techniques occurring in the right brain regions as we additionally enhance important feedback loops with our nervous system in a positive way as well as reduce inflammation globally and locally in wanted regions.
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Sounds super. Do you have an app for that?
 
It is interesting to see different psychiatrists give completely different explanations of ME/CFS with great confidence as if their explanation was self-evident to all their colleagues (who turn out to think something else).

It needs to be pointed out to them somehow that we don't just make up stories about people like this any more in other sorts of medicine. We do our best to discover the truth and if we aren't there yet we admit it.
 
rvallee said:
Followed by not scientific terms that are really just a bunch of woowoo and are pretty much the exact same made-up explanations behind the CBT/GET paradigm, which he presents here with only slight variations on labels, which is what the psychosomatic paradigm is all about: obfuscation through bullshit.

Speaking of scientific terms: post. Latin for after. Well OK not scientific but commonly used to mean after in science.

And here is basically the entire problem. That we never know. And only find out later. But, by contrast, I guess he knows better. It's "science" after all. Well, it's schmience, the latin term for pseudoscience*, but whatever.

* As long as you don't check ;)
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I’ve developed a woo technique, whenever I see this kind of pseudo psych thing, I just look away and say “Decode ME, Decode ME, Decode ME” it makes me feel better, maybe we should do a trial?
 
EndME said:
I’d personally like to make clear that I do not defend the use of “allostatic self-efficacy” practices. By contrast I use the ultra homotopic mind-body palace network-respiking-stabilising™ approach. In scientific terms we manage to reorganise ourselves, including a hyper-specialised focus on brain and nervous system network reorganisation, within 12 dimensions using advanced techniques from quantum neuroscience to help the brain overcome regional spiking problems which automatically induce a higher capacity load due to advanced optimisation techniques occurring in the right brain regions as we additionally enhance important feedback loops with our nervous system in a positive way as well as reduce inflammation globally and locally in wanted regions.
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Fahrvergnügen works better for me. You should have it with mustard and a Pilsner.
 
tornandfrayed said:
I wrote something with the intent of sending it to the Guardian, but now I'm looking at their Corrections and Complaints I'm not sure where it would fit. It's not precise enough for a letter and I don't think I'd want to expose myself to these people with no organisation for cover. So while I think about it, I'll post it here
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I've sent this with some small changes (thanks @Sean) to Guardian letters, saying I'm not submitting it for publication, just to raise some issues.

Sean said:
You could also cite the reports from the IOM, AHQR (a good one because it calls for the retiring of the Oxford criteria from use), and others, just so they can't say it is just NICE that has 'gone rogue'. Or maybe just refer to those other reports in general as from 'other international institutions', or similar.
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