Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior - Volume 4, Issue 3, 2016

Volume 4, Issue 3, 2016

• Cognitive-behavior therapy: why is it so vilified in the chronic fatigue syndrome community?, Editorial by Fred Friedberg. (FULL TEXT)

  Conclusions - Without the disease-denying rhetoric and exaggerated claims regarding recovery that have been linked to this illness, perhaps CBT would not have the bad reputation it has among many in the CFS community. That said, many patients do not care about the type of intervention as long as it helps them. Yet patient reaction particularly among activists has thoroughly rejected the utility of CBT. Perhaps a new approach to educating providers (and influential medical practice organizations) is needed in this divisive environment. According to a recent qualitative study carried out with 19 CFS patients, factors that influence whether or not a patient engages with a behavioral intervention for CFS are: ensuring that the patient feels ‘accepted and believed’; that the patient accepts the diagnosis; and that the model of treatment offered matches the model of illness held by the patient. This is the kind of thoughtful, data-based approach that should be considered when educating practitioners about how to help the CFS patient. The International Association for CFS/ME (IACFS/ME*) Primer for Clinical Practitioners [Friedberg F, Bateman L, Bested A, et al. Chronic fatigue syndrome. Myalgic encephalomyelitis. A primer for clinical practitioners. 2012, 2014. Scottsdale, AZ: Wilshire Press.] approximates this more individualized approach to behavioral management with the patient and avoids the use of the CBT term given its negative connotations. With this more enlightened approach, we can do a better job of educating physicians and other practitioners on how to most effectively help CFS patients, rather than alienate them. For the practitioner interested in acquiring clinical skills for care of the CFS patient, professional workshops will be presented at the October 2016 IACFS/ME research and clinical conference (www.iacfsme.org). Finally, an ongoing effort at the Centers for Disease Control to develop CFS education materials, including behavioral management suggestions, is now underway with the goal of providing guidance for both practitioners and patients.

• Widespread pain and altered renal function in ME/CFS patients. Full Text

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• Roles of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during physical fatigue: a magnetoencephalographic study. Abstract

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• Efficacy of two delivery modes of behavioral self-management in severe chronic fatigue syndrome. Abstract

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• Assessing current functioning as a measure of significant reduction in activity level. Abstract

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See also

• Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior for other Issues

cognition Thought processes, including attention, reasoning, and memory.

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) - A type of psychotherapy geared toward modifying alleged unhealthy thinking, behaviors or illness beliefs. One of the treatment arms used in the controversial PACE trial.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a U.S. government agency dedicated to epidemiology and public health. It operates under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.

renal involving, related to or in the area of the kidneys