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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome): The Facts
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains one of the most controversial illnesses, both in terms of its causes, and the best ways to treat the illness. For years, sufferers have had to deal wtih scepticism from their families, employers, and even health care professionals. The vast amount of
conflicting advice that has been published up to now has served only to confuse sufferers (and the professionals) even more. Chronic fatigue the facts presents a compassionate guide to this illness, providing sufferers and their families, with practical advice, based solely on scientific
evidence. It is unique in being written by both a sufferer and a physician, both of whom have had extensive experience, talking to, and helping patients. Included in the book is a detailed guide to self-help, written from a patient's perspective, but evidence- based. The book also deals with a
number of special issues, advising on how to choose therapies and therapists, an how to deal with CFS in children. The book additionally includes an overview of the history of the illness, looking at the nature and causes of CFS, and the opportunities of the future. The book will be invaluable for
sufferers from CFS, their friends and families, and the numerous health professionals who come into contact with sufferers from this illness.
conflicting advice that has been published up to now has served only to confuse sufferers (and the professionals) even more. Chronic fatigue the facts presents a compassionate guide to this illness, providing sufferers and their families, with practical advice, based solely on scientific
evidence. It is unique in being written by both a sufferer and a physician, both of whom have had extensive experience, talking to, and helping patients. Included in the book is a detailed guide to self-help, written from a patient's perspective, but evidence- based. The book also deals with a
number of special issues, advising on how to choose therapies and therapists, an how to deal with CFS in children. The book additionally includes an overview of the history of the illness, looking at the nature and causes of CFS, and the opportunities of the future. The book will be invaluable for
sufferers from CFS, their friends and families, and the numerous health professionals who come into contact with sufferers from this illness.
278 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2000
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 20, 2012
This is a worthless little book that contains very few facts, in spite of being part of "The Facts" series. While it is imperative that with a disease as complex and poorly understood as CFS, authors muster as much data as possible, the authors of this book appear to have done very little scientific research. The sections on testing, causes, prevalence, and prognosis fail to cite a single study, ignoring the plethora of articles that have appeared in medical journals over the past three decades documenting immune system abnormalities, nervous system defects, cellular dysfunction, viral reactivation and hypoxia. Instead the authors rely on vague generalizations couched in language geared to an eight-year-old. The area of greatest concern to people with CFS--treatments--was positively skeletal, devoting as little as a single sentence to some of the more widely used medications. In sharp contrast, chapter after chapter was devoted to "psychosocial treatments" not one of which has ever been shown effective for treating CFS.
The underlying problem with this book is that the principal author is a psychologist. (If to a hammer everything is a nail, to a psychologist everything is a neurosis.) The bulk of this book is comprised of chapters on depression, anxiety, panic attacks, managing relationships, mood, etc. For a person who is too exhausted to lift a hairbrush "managing your thinking" is about as helpful as an exorcism. If you are a person with CFS, there is a good chance that after reading the section about your "happiness diary" you may be tempted to do a little exorcism of your own.
The underlying problem with this book is that the principal author is a psychologist. (If to a hammer everything is a nail, to a psychologist everything is a neurosis.) The bulk of this book is comprised of chapters on depression, anxiety, panic attacks, managing relationships, mood, etc. For a person who is too exhausted to lift a hairbrush "managing your thinking" is about as helpful as an exorcism. If you are a person with CFS, there is a good chance that after reading the section about your "happiness diary" you may be tempted to do a little exorcism of your own.
June 25, 2013
Quite a brief book. I found it a bit patronising and condescending in places. The authors immediately discard any treatment that doesn't have rigorous clinical testing, only to then fully support adaptive pacing therapy based on anecdotes and professional/patient experience. There's many better books out there, both from a 'facts' perspective as well as treatment information and self-help strategies.
July 22, 2016
This is a book about chronic fatigue, and not in any way, M.E. This book contains anything but the facts as concerns the neurological disease M.E.
October 19, 2021
This book is ok, but also outdated. As other reviewers have indicated, the author recommends Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, both of which are now understood to be contraindicated for ME/CFS. Repeated discussions on depression and recomendations for anti-depressants are annoying. I don't think this book should be called "The Facts" but perhaps something more accurate like - Coping Skills for Living with ME/CFS.
There are a lot of therapy 101 recommendations around dealing with the emotional impact of your diagnosis, managing your thinking, coping with anxiety and depression, etc. The section on communication skills was very weak. Living with chronic illness (or mental health conditions) requires learning how to appropriately and firmly advocate for yourself. It also often means finding new care providers who will listen and respect your choices. It also sometimes means saying no to treatments and medications. This book gives zero support to patients in this regard, recommending a rather passive and deferential approach to communicating with doctors. This just isn't the reality for disabled and ill people and a section on self-advocacy would have been more helpful. Other advice is also Self-care 101 - sleep hygiene, stress management, healthy diet.
All in all a brief overview lacking real substance or depth. Not helpful for someone newly diagnosed, as far as the actual illness goes. I was really hoping for some in depth, constructive advice on adjustment and pacing. Some of the basic skills outlined may be a helpful start for someone who has never been in therapy.
There are a lot of therapy 101 recommendations around dealing with the emotional impact of your diagnosis, managing your thinking, coping with anxiety and depression, etc. The section on communication skills was very weak. Living with chronic illness (or mental health conditions) requires learning how to appropriately and firmly advocate for yourself. It also often means finding new care providers who will listen and respect your choices. It also sometimes means saying no to treatments and medications. This book gives zero support to patients in this regard, recommending a rather passive and deferential approach to communicating with doctors. This just isn't the reality for disabled and ill people and a section on self-advocacy would have been more helpful. Other advice is also Self-care 101 - sleep hygiene, stress management, healthy diet.
All in all a brief overview lacking real substance or depth. Not helpful for someone newly diagnosed, as far as the actual illness goes. I was really hoping for some in depth, constructive advice on adjustment and pacing. Some of the basic skills outlined may be a helpful start for someone who has never been in therapy.
April 5, 2019
After recently being diagnosed I’ve book looking at all the research I can about the condition. Found this book really informative.
November 30, 2018
The first book I read on the topic and it just doesn't relate to the illness at all. It only relates to being really tired without an underlying illness. It's based on the flawed and disproven idea that people are just unfit, have got into bad habits like poor 'sleep hygiene' and that those symptoms that can't be explained away by such simplicity simply don't exist (except in your mind - which is where the psychotherapy approach comes in). In this bizarre theory every symptom is entirely under your control and recovery is guaranteed, sitting the person up for a major fall and often a relapse when this doesn't work.
Instead of symptoms being caused by CFS, the authors assume the symptoms are caused by the person who is ill - and their "perpetuating behaviors", "unhelpful" thoughts etc. It's a deeply stigmatising approach and cannot account for the vast majority of symptoms. The idea that you can use simplistic ideas that help other conditions and just assume they work for CFS - without bothering to check - has caused a great deal of damage. Things that might seem like common sense - like not sleeping in the day time, having a fixed time to get up each day - are massively damaging to those in the oversleeping phase and are totally impossible to follow.
Pacing and avoid the boom-and-bust cycle is better understood from a poster online or a charity website rather than this book.
We now know that Cognitive behavioral therapy - a firm of psychotherapy - doesn't address the underlying illness - so it's only going to help people who are fatigued fully or partly because of mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
I wish I'd looked up Michael Sharpe's view on people with Chronic fatigue syndrome before picking up this book... "undeserving sick".
Looking at the use of CBT now, you see that the CDC and Finland no longer use this approach for people with ME or CFS, and the released PACE trial data showed nobody doing it got fitter or better (Sharpe was one of the authors of the PACE trial), frankly I'm not surprised.
Going back to the book though - it's too much for those with moderate or severe symptoms to be able to take in, the cognitive symptoms just don't allow it for most people - and if course they aren't addressed in the book, but ignored - like most symptoms.
This book may help people with mental health problems who are fatigued but don't have CFS symptoms but you are better off getting a CBT self-help book.
Instead of symptoms being caused by CFS, the authors assume the symptoms are caused by the person who is ill - and their "perpetuating behaviors", "unhelpful" thoughts etc. It's a deeply stigmatising approach and cannot account for the vast majority of symptoms. The idea that you can use simplistic ideas that help other conditions and just assume they work for CFS - without bothering to check - has caused a great deal of damage. Things that might seem like common sense - like not sleeping in the day time, having a fixed time to get up each day - are massively damaging to those in the oversleeping phase and are totally impossible to follow.
Pacing and avoid the boom-and-bust cycle is better understood from a poster online or a charity website rather than this book.
We now know that Cognitive behavioral therapy - a firm of psychotherapy - doesn't address the underlying illness - so it's only going to help people who are fatigued fully or partly because of mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
I wish I'd looked up Michael Sharpe's view on people with Chronic fatigue syndrome before picking up this book... "undeserving sick".
Looking at the use of CBT now, you see that the CDC and Finland no longer use this approach for people with ME or CFS, and the released PACE trial data showed nobody doing it got fitter or better (Sharpe was one of the authors of the PACE trial), frankly I'm not surprised.
Going back to the book though - it's too much for those with moderate or severe symptoms to be able to take in, the cognitive symptoms just don't allow it for most people - and if course they aren't addressed in the book, but ignored - like most symptoms.
This book may help people with mental health problems who are fatigued but don't have CFS symptoms but you are better off getting a CBT self-help book.
April 16, 2019
A guide to understanding and coping with CFS / ME.
I thought the advice was very basic and was presented in a straightforward manner, but for in-depth knowledge / advice you probably need to discuss with a specialist.
Overall rating 3.5.
Reading time around two hours.
I thought the advice was very basic and was presented in a straightforward manner, but for in-depth knowledge / advice you probably need to discuss with a specialist.
Overall rating 3.5.
Reading time around two hours.
August 15, 2011
If you're interested in a brief overview of the current medical view of ME/CFS this is a god place to start. It's short and concise. It offers some good advice for sufferers and those around them. Sharpe was one of the doctors involved in PACE, a recent research trial in UK of the efficacy of CBT as a treatment, so he's a bit evangelical but nonetheless there's a god balance of information and debunking of myths/prejudices.
May 3, 2018
Couldn't agree more with other reviewers saying it was condescending. The fact they need to try reiterate the fact their not saying its in peoples head whilst only offering therapys that are related to this. yet in other fact series books this is only a small element as it is only part of the picture of health. Additionally stating therapy needs to be based on evidence then supporting ones that have anecdotal evidence is a joke. I'm not going to deny that by following guides to improve your outlook, pacing yourself and sleep hygiene will help. but it will not cure you like their train of thought supports that cfs will go away when you fixed yourself. History repeats itself like other conditions that they thought were hysteria before they found the right tests to prove otherwise.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews