Illness beliefs of adolescents with CFS and their parents: the perceived causes of illness and beliefs about recovery, 2018,Loades et al (inc Chalder)

[alex3619]

An utterly appalling question.

WTF has gone wrong with medical science in the UK?

Umm, medical science? Science, this lot?

 

[Amw66]

We have this data for adults from English clinics at five year follow-up. It suggests non-recovery is very common. My guess is the recovery rate is probably lower than what newly diagnosed people expect rather than higher i.e. many patients should probably be warned to be less optimistic.

Specialist treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome/ME: a cohort study among adult patients in England

• Simon M Collin
• Esther Crawley

https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-017-2437-3

Do you think that you are still suffering from CFS/ME?
Yes 82.7% (81/98)
No 8.2% (8/98)
Uncertain 9.2% (9/98)

@Action for M.E. - please address the 2 year recovery period in your info for GPs, including advising those who have watched - there is so little evidence of this it is both unprofessional and harmful

 

[Skycloud]

Attributing CFS to a viral cause may be advantageous because the explanation is easy to understand and to explain to others, and it may also be self-protective as it precludes guilt, blame or social stigma that may be associated with alternative explanations. However, the problem of attributing CFS to a viral cause is that it may result in feeling helpless around self-efficacy for recovery [8].

Why? How? Based on what?

 

[Hutan]

Attributing CFS to a viral cause may be advantageous because the explanation is easy to understand and to explain to others, and it may also be self-protective as it precludes guilt, blame or social stigma that may be associated with alternative explanations. However, the problem of attributing CFS to a viral cause is that it may result in feeling helpless around self-efficacy for recovery [8].

Hmm. So after a life time of successfully recovering from virus infections - mumps, measles, chicken pox, shingles, glandular fever, the annual cold, perhaps a flu, conjunctivitis, plenty more no doubt - when I got a fairly unremarkable gastric flu type illness, I felt helpless about recovering?

Actually I felt sure I would be recovering any time soon for the first two years or so. And my two children, also survivors of multiple virus infections, although admittedly a smaller selection, also felt sure they would be recovering any time soon.

I'm quite confident that attributing CFS to a viral trigger had nothing to do with me coming to doubt recovery any time soon. It was the years of illness that did that.

 

[Lucibee]

That looks familiar: "Blaming symptoms on a viral infection conveys certain advantages, irrespective of its validity. It is simple, frequent and easily accepted. ... It is also beneficial to self-esteem by protecting the individual from guilt and blame." - Wessely (1991) [link to more complete quote in another thread here]

 

[Tom Kindlon]

 

[Luther Blissett]

Attributing CFS to a viral cause may be advantageous because the explanation is easy to understand and to explain to others, and it may also be self-protective as it precludes guilt, blame or social stigma that may be associated with alternative explanations.

That looks familiar: "Blaming symptoms on a viral infection conveys certain advantages, irrespective of its validity. It is simple, frequent and easily accepted. ... It is also beneficial to self-esteem by protecting the individual from guilt and blame." - Wessely (1991) [link to more complete quote in another thread here]

Yes, the famous examples of people with HIV is surely proof of this claim that it precludes guilt, blame or social stigma. FFS.

 

[NelliePledge]

That looks familiar: "Blaming symptoms on a viral infection conveys certain advantages, irrespective of its validity. It is simple, frequent and easily accepted. ... It is also beneficial to self-esteem by protecting the individual from guilt and blame." - Wessely (1991) [link to more complete quote in another thread here]

Chalder et al regurgitating Wessely what a surprise

 

[Sean]

I would trust a Medium before many of the claimed experts in the NHS, and I don't even believe in psychic advice. Its getting to be more of an issue here in Australia too. The damage being done is so severe, globally, that I believe certain careers should be stopped ... no more research or giving advice for ME permitted.

Yep. Situation needs that level of response. Start with an immediate suspension of psycho-behavioural treatments of the sort used by PACE and similar trials, especially exercise treatments. Then straight onto the high level, independent, and very public investigations into exactly WTF happened, and why, and how do we make sure its like doesn't happen again.

 

[chrisb]

Chalder et al regurgitating Wessely what a surprise

In a sense she is regurgitating herself, as she was one of the "et als", along with Butler and David.

 

[NelliePledge]

In a sense she is regurgitating herself, as she was one of the "et als", along with Butler and David.

Eugh even worse

 

[Amw66]

@Action for M.E. - please address the 2 year recovery period in your info for GPs, including advising those who have watched - there is so little evidence of this it is both unprofessional and harmful

bump - still to have a response to this

 

[rvallee]

In a sense she is regurgitating herself, as she was one of the "et als", along with Butler and David.

"Science", according to psychosocial ideologues.