The article «The physician Marte got well from ME» is paywalled. But what I assume is the essence of it, is easily accessible via Recovery Norway, also with a link to Tidsskriftet, a paper for physicians. It is great that Marte recovered. She is now working as a psychiatrist with a 4 day intensive treatment that adresses OCD and anxiety disorders. In 2008 she was on her way to work in Uganda, but got ill and had to go home. That was the start of her anecdotal journey. She diagnosed herself as having mono, and it was confirmed later through a blood sample that she at some point had been through the infection. In 2010, two years after falling ill, she was recovered. She was almost instantly recovered after attending B. Stubbhaug and his stress clinic or whatever it is called. Here she did a 4 day intensive program.
Because this touches LP, the planned study and much more, I would like to point out a couple of things that are striking and important, as it often is in these kind of anecdotes. This is one simple anecdote, but as indicated, many of the Recovery Norway anecdotes has the same characteristics. That is important, because it is quite telling for who might benefit from these approaches. If so, we could say that a subgroup of patients diagnosed under the umbrella ME/CFS could make good use of mental techniques. Then I would be the first one to stress the undisputed fact that the diagnose of ME/CFS is a complete mess. But focusing on why it works for some and why not for others, even causing harm, the similarities and differences among patients, are the important questions everyone should look closely at. But quite the opposite is happening, when overselling, when politics, prejudice and dogmas are the driving forces, not the greater good of all patients and different sub-groups under the umbrella.
One thing that under all circumstances are fortunate for her anecdote, is that she took appropriate measures early on. We don’t know exactly how much a good start has impacted her improvement, but from a logic point og view, from medicine in general, doing things right is absolutely vital. It might not cure you right away, maybe not at all, but it surely won’t harm. That said, taking a period of proper rest early on could be important. She should appreciate and consider herself one of the the lucky ones, bearing in mind that the majority of ME-patients dosent have the luxury of a good start. There are several reasons for a good/bad start. The advice given/not given, personal approaches to a challenge, etc. I find it important to make a point itself, out of the short duration here. In relative ME-terms two years is short. And that might just be very important when considering recovery and possibility of spontaneous recovery. Short duration and good measures early on would probably play a big part no matter of intervention.
What I find most striking, is that she obviously have had what I would call a bad thought pattern, something she in many ways admits. The big question here is, how does that fit with reality and on a group level? We know how these people explains ME this way, fear, avoidance and those things. But is that really the case, and if so, wouldn’t every patient just work out its way to full recovery just fine with Stubbhaug, LP and CBT? Is it really that easy? Of course not. A striking example of her not-so-good thought pattern, is that she never would walk uphill for instance. Literally. That says a lot of how fixed one might be, how damaging that could be in a very unhealthy way. One could just imagine how never walk uphill breaks down in her everyday management. Oops. And then again, it is not all that strange that if a wrong thought pattern, so to speak is the real problem, you could probably improve things quite easily and fast. The great problem is that ME-patients in general dosent fit the description of this reality. Majority of patients keep it up, not falling into fear or avoidance or other thought patterns that are not helpful. Its the other way around and that is what makes this model so incredibly nuts.
