Sly Saint
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and their allies will rally in DC, London, and Edinburgh this September to “demand bold, urgent governmental action” for the millions of people living with ME, long COVID, and other infection-associated, chronic diseases.
As researchers continue to find many similarities between ME and long COVID, the history of ME offers crucial lessons for approaching long COVID and some pathways toward more effective research and care.
The primary symptoms of ME—post-exertional malaise, unrelenting fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction—also appear in many long COVID cases. In fact, preliminary studies estimate nearly half of long COVID patients meet the diagnostic criteria for ME.
Also known as ME/CFS or chronic fatigue syndrome, ME drew the Centers for Disease Control’s attention almost 40 years ago, when it was identified as a “chronic, mononucleosis-like illness” with persistent viral activity.
As more cases emerged, however, some influential scientists attributed patients’ symptoms to “dysfunctional illness beliefs.” In the following decades, the funding for ME research went largely toward psychological treatments for a physiological illness.
Studies have since found that ME patients were frequently mistreated or misdiagnosed, and often misbelieved.
I am one of those patients. Despite my professional expertise in medical rhetoric, I spent a decade shuffling between clinicians who attributed my symptoms to stress. They insisted I stop worrying and resume my usual activities.
https://www.kevinmd.com/2022/09/why-psychological-explanations-for-long-covid-are-dangerous.html