The Times view on taking myalgic encephalomyelitis seriously: Chronic Condition

Sign-up/paywall, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...yelitis-seriously-chronic-condition-5m0dw5tv7

 

Looks like there are screenshots of the article in the Facebook post from @Grigor

Code:

https://www.facebook.com/AnilaboutME/posts/2586841244911113

 

This is excellent!

 

Cobbled together from that Facebook post:

 

What next - a takedown of the SMC?

 

Thanks, I've reached my 2-article free limit for this week.

 

Maybe to develop ME/CFS one often needs the right combination of bad things to be present at the same time. Like a certain genetic background, a certain immune background, an infection, and not enough rest.

For society to finally take ME/CFS serious there may also need to be the right combination of things to be present at the same time.

There may be some more good things coming up soon, like the NICE review. The coronavorus pandemic is certainly helping. It is now very evident that infections cause lasting problems in some people.

 

definitely seems to be the case with my daughter and aunt.

 

Im really happy to see this. But I also hope in the days/weeks/months to come, that we will get even more articles. And that they won’t just say people are severe for “months or even years”, but for decades or even for life. Bedridden, sometimes unable even to use a commode, some are paralysed, tube fed.

And I also hope that we start to see some articles, about the sheer torture inflicted on people that is graded exercise Theory. It’s not just about it being hurtful to be told your illness is psychosomatic. It is torture, to make people whose disease process is intolerance to exertion, to being made to increase activity and exercise..and it rips your life apart - taking you from being able to walk about, to being in a wheelchair, unable to lift your head up or feed yourself. We need articles about that. I hope they come...

 

Is this in the print edition?

 

Yes page 31, it's rather small though

 

Gosh so another 2 pieces in times today then... the full page about child protection proceedings and this 'view' piece too?

Crikey. We can expect something really heinous from the BPS kickback soon then. Not necessarily in the Times, just somewhere i mean. They must be seriously peed off at this general change in the narrative, something will have to be done...

Brace yourselves.

 

Nice. Both 1980,’s and 2018 are inaccurate, but it is good to see a english paper getting things just about right, since much of the eminence-madness originates from here.

Nobody wants others to be ill, but maybe there is something good in the aftermath of covid-19 for ME-patients. Then again, it is absurd that we have had to wait for a virus and a pandemic to actually take serious illness seriously. But a paper writing this is not a guarantee for anything at all. The sad thing would be more senseless propaganda for GET and CBT. Not unlikely, cause you save a penny or two...? Not.

 

This is a very valid point. I wonder if someone might like to make it in a letter to The Times. I would do it myself but I’ve just submitted a letter making a couple of different points. There’s probably never been a better opportunity to get a letter in The Times about ME: letters@thetimes.co.uk – include full name, address and tel no; keep it under 250 words; and try to send it today.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1275774543781597184

 

Absolutely, and very definitely agree! We need more articles from currently uninitiated journalists. We need these articles to delve much further into the true, and prevalent nature of this horrific disease. We need numerous articles that reveal medicine and governments' neglect and mistreatment of pwME. We need these articles to acknowledge GET for pwME is torture. And, CBT to convince pwME GET is not torture is unethical.

 

Yes I thought about Rod Liddle's article in the last few days for some reason. It's great to see these articles today, but really they are no more than we are due, very late, and still contain horrendous GET nonsense.

For a long time the Times & co have been a big part of the problem, and even now that they are doing a very good impression of a rat scurrying off a sinking ship, we still don't know if they'll be publishing a few more thoroughly offensive BPS articles "for balance" over the coming weeks. So pardon me for remaining steadfastly grumpy and curmudgeonly, but I won't be getting the flags out until they grow a backbone, start doing some proper journalism and tell the SMC / BPS crew where to shove it, if not publicly, then at least in deed by not giving them the space they don't deserve. The UK national press were happy not to give the patients voice a space for a few decades, so I don't see what the problem would be. The BPS crew are imposters who have no business commenting on ME anyway, and I'd prefer to see their abuse exposed rather than them being given a platform to peddle more of their nastiness over the coming weeks.

 

It's probably worth being aware that The Times are launching their own radio station at the end of this month (and I think they are sponsors of the Talk Radio station):

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/06/launch-date-and-schedule-revealed-for-times-radio/

If the M.E. community don't get in there early we know who will...

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1275778540160659457

 

Ooo naughty Nina 'doctor shopping'









Edited to add... for anyone reading who is new to the field.... 'doctor shopping' is the pejorative term often used by those who want to frame the perfectly natural, healthy & unfortunately necessary search for a doctor who is sufficiently competent/educated to provide answers & support, as evidence of psychological pathology. Rather than the frustrating, disheartening & desperate journey that it is. It's outrageous that someone should need to see so many doctors simply to get a diagnosis, even more so that it's often framed as a psychological flaw in the sick person rather than general medical incompetence in this area.