"Fatigue is often caused not by work, but by stress, worry, frustration and resentment"
Dale Carnegie.
The cause of ME-CFS remains unknown despite vigorous research, resulting in ME-CFS being diagnosed after elimination of other organic causes. Some current medical opinion points to the syndrome being a common manifestation of multiple precipitating factors, including infective agents, immune-defects, neuro-endocrine imbalance, and neuro-transmitter malfunction. With no clear evidence of why people have ME-CFS it often falls to the GP to make a judgement on what is the right treatment for the patient.
The advice and judgement can vary immensely with some suggesting anti-depressants to help with ME-CFS, while others will advise Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, NHS nutritionists, and paced exercise. There is no “magic bullet” treatment for ME-CFS and many affected by the syndrome do get depressed and frustrated. Very often the message they receive after a long journey through medical tests and counselling is the phrase “there is nothing more that can be done”. This often the worst thing that they will hear, because they need to have hope, a belief that there is something they can do to overcome their ME-CFS symptoms and get better.
Please note:
We do not diagnose ME-CFS or any medical condition and the above examples are given for your information only. If you attend JustLetGo for help with ME-CFS you will be required to confirm that you have been medically diagnosed with ME-CFS prior to receiving any alternative therapy treatment.
It’s “Psychosomatic” or “It’s all in your mind”. These phrases do more to antagonize suffers of syndromes such as MS-CFS, IBS, and Fybromyalgia than any other single thing. We all know the feelings phrases like the two above conjure up even for anyone healthy. Most people immediately become defensive and the reaction is “I’m not imagining it, I’m not making it up, you know” and other responses. For the ME-CFS sufferer it tends to make them see red, because they know all the physical symptoms are there, they know how it feels to be totally exhausted and not know why. To be told it’s all psychological is a hard pill to swallow and yet the mind is playing a large part, a part that is often hidden because the processes are deeply buried in the sub-conscious mind!
The longer the ME-CFS sufferer lives with the undiagnosed and untreated condition the longer they learnt to accept it at an unconscious level. “It’s just how I am” is a phrase often heard as they describe their life. The condition can breed a lack of hope, a deep sadness because of the loss of a lifestyle they formerly enjoyed and a general belief that they will never recover. Modern medical intervention tends to confirm that belief, as most attempts conventionally to treat this condition fail.
To illustrate simply how our mind and body interact perhaps you can recall a time when you had a sudden shock, a frightening experience or received bad news. The first thing that happens is that we feel physically nauseous to a degree depending on the circumstances. At the opposite end of the spectrum I’m sure you can remember a truly exciting or fulfilling moment in your life when you were so captured in the moment that you physically felt it in your body i.e. the thrill of passing that all important test or exam. You felt elated, a physically excitement that flowed through your whole body as the mind sent out the “happy” chemicals throughout your physical body.
There is a growing branch of medicine that has over the past few years begun to research the connections of the mind and body, how they interact and cause us to be ill, and also they help us to recover: –
Psychoneuroimmunology or PNI to give it a more manageable title can shed some light on what happens when we think a thought, how it affects our physiology and ultimately our future health. It was proven as long ago as the 50’s by Robert Ader that the immune system itself has a memory, that is, it will remember without any reference to our conscious mind. In an experiment rats were made ill on drugged flavoured water and once withdrawn, subsequently recovered. When later given identically flavoured water which did not contain the drug they became ill again to the same extent.
Hans Selye as long ago as the 20’s identified that an excess production of adrenalin caused by stress will cause adrenal exhaustion and ultimately, all of the symptoms we today identify as being ME-CFS. Ellen Sue Stern in her book, “The Indispensable Woman” and “Running on Empty”, written in the 80’s identify symptoms and mind traps of the indispensable woman that equate to symptoms of ME-CFS.
Candace Pert a Neuro Pharmacologist who was part of the team who discovered Peptides has carried out much research into the mind/body connection. She is convinced that not only is the Mind and Body linked but that every cell in the body communicates in a vast network, exchanging intelligence, and that ultimately our body is actually the “brain” and not just the grey matter within our skull!
Modern living has made humans far more prone to stress than ever before, which if left unchecked can often lead to more chronic conditions, including ME-CFS . We have lost the spiritual values that sustained many generations. Many people on hearing that someone is spiritual immediately connect it with being “religious”. Spirit is not about your religious beliefs but about how you feel inside, what drives you, what is your purpose in life, how you live from day to day, how you treat others, and how you regard yourself. In essence what makes you tick!
In many chronic conditions such as ME-CFS the person has often fallen out of love with themselves, feeling perhaps unworthy, incapable, and feeling that they have nothing that gives them satisfaction, pleasure, or peace in life. Many times they are high achievers, working around the clock if they can, and when ME-CFS strikes someone they feel even more frustrated at not being able to “achieve”.
Some excellent work is being done nowadays worldwide by therapists and practitioners using hypnotherapy. Alan became interested in helping ME-CFS sufferers in 2007 and completed specialist ME-CFS training with Jenny Lynn of Open Mind Therapy who has achieved excellent results with her structured programme.
At JustLetgo we have found that Reiki combined with the Open Mind programme has produced a treatment protocol that works on the mind, body, and spirit. We firmly believe that the Eastern approach of treating the whole person is exactly what ME-CFS requires, and our treatment is a multi-modal one, allowing the mind and body to relax totally. Reiki is particularly effective for treating clients that have been experiencing stress for a lengthy period, it encourages emotional balance, and promotes an overall calm relaxed feeling, often from the very first session.
Hypnotherapy allows the client to address many of the subconscious issues that they are not normally aware of. Also important is a proper nutritional regime for the physical recovery of the immune system, something that we encourage all ME-CFS clients to pursue via their GP who can refer them to a nutritionist.
It’s often a slow path to recovery for those who suffer from ME-CFS. The number of sessions required for an ME-CFS client are hard to predict as everyone is unique, however our programme normally takes a minimum of 12 sessions.
Please note : For some conditions hypnotherapy can only be used if you have written permission from your GP or consultant, including any condition where you are are under supervision of a psychiatrist or mental health professional. This is to ensure that any medical treatment you may be undergoing will not conflict with hypnotherapy or vice versa. If you have any questions about this please contact us directly for more information before booking a session. Please see our information page for further details including our therapy disclaimer.
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