For Those Suffering From Chronic Fatigue, Victim-Blaming Is Rampant
By Naomi Chainey
Stigma and mistreatment have those with chronic fatigue syndrome fighting back.
I n 2006, I was diagnosed with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome), a complex disabling condition, classified by the World Health Organization as a disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms include digestive stress, joint pain, inability to regulate temperature, aching muscles, cognitive dysfunction, and unusual adverse responses to activity, stress, and sensory stimuli. The condition ranges in severity, but an estimated 25% of those affected are housebound or confined to their beds, potentially for decades at a time. My own condition is comparatively moderate, but severe sufferers describe their experience as “a living death.” Occasionally it causes actual death.
In over 5000 peer-reviewed studies, researchers have identified physical abnormalities in the immune, cardiac, endocrine, and autonomic nervous systems of ME/CFS patients. Though an underlying cause has yet to be identified, the debilitating physical symptoms cannot be denied.
Yet despite all this, the belief that ME/CFS is a “lifestyle disease” continues to influence public opinion, patient care, and availability of…
