What do you think?
Rate this book
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Seven Proven Steps to Less Pain and More Energy
A Lifestyle Balance Program for Less Pain and More Energy If you're struggling with fibromyalgia or CFS, this book can help you. It offers an evidence-based improvement program that can help you achieve a healthy balance between activity, rest, and leisure-a balance that can significantly reduce pain and fatigue and increase your energy. In this book, author Fred Friedberg, a clinical psychologist and a leading researcher in chronic fatigue, first explains how lifestyle impacts the severity and persistence of fibromyalgia and CFS. He then goes on to show how the seven step lifestyle balance program can help you to function and feel better. In step one, you'll learn how to use active relaxation techniques to lessen ongoing stress. Better sleep, anger management, and activity pacing make up steps two, three, and four. Step five focuses on overcoming worry and guilt, and you'll learn how low-effort pleasurable activities can ease pain and fatigue in step six. Finally, in step seven, the importance of finding and maintaining personal support is covered. This effective lifestyle-focused program has brought relief to many others like you who have struggled with these misunderstood illnesses-illnesses that modern medicine cannot cure. You can start on the path to a better quality of life today!
- GenresNonfictionHealth
200 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 20, 2012
Attributing an illness to a "personality type" has as much validity as blaming evil spirits or original sin. Whether you believe in karma, voodoo, or "personality types", the fact is that none of these cause diseases. So, why does Fred Friedberg claim on page 24 that those who have CFS and FM are "hard driving" individuals, whose character traits "play an important role in the onset and persistence of these illnesses"? This is pure hogwash. If a "hard driving" personality can cause CFS, what is the character trait of people who get the flu? How about the character trait of oysters that get cancer? Do they have "overbooked lives"? Think about it for a minute.
Equally silly is the claim that "stress" causes CFS/FM. The studies that Friedberg cites, in which people with CFS reported "stress" in the year before falling ill, have no control groups. If you asked any random group of Americans if they experienced "stress" during the previous year, 90% of them would say "yes." Stress, particularly physical stress, will worsen CFS, but this has nothing to do with causation. (Diseases are not caused by stress. They are caused by pathogens.)
In 2006, when this book was published, CFS had long been established as a neuro-immunological illness with a viral etiology. But while Friedberg mentions that overactivity in the RNase L pathway (indicative of viral infections) is linked to CFS symptoms, he then goes on to claim that correcting "personality traits" can lessen the severity of the illness. Friedberg's ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth is only matched by his disregard for basic biology. The failure of Cognitive Behavior Therapy to improve a single CFS symptom stands as proof that viruses don't give a hoot about personality factors.
The truly ironic thing about this book is that it was published the same year that Sophia Mirza died of CFS. Hers was the first recorded death in the UK officially attributed to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. But in reality Sophia was killed by psychologists who stuck her in a mental institution rather than treat her illness. Sophia's autopsy revealed damage to 80% of the dorsal ganglia in her spinal column due to widespread inflammation. (Damage to the dorsal ganglia would account for most CFS symptoms.) Perhaps Fred can explain how a "type A personality" can destroy 80% of a person's spinal cord. (No doubt he'd claim the destruction was due to "catastrophizing.")
If you have been diagnosed with CFS, don't waste your energy reading this book. Get a copy of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide instead. And, for the sake of your health, avoid pop psychologists.
Equally silly is the claim that "stress" causes CFS/FM. The studies that Friedberg cites, in which people with CFS reported "stress" in the year before falling ill, have no control groups. If you asked any random group of Americans if they experienced "stress" during the previous year, 90% of them would say "yes." Stress, particularly physical stress, will worsen CFS, but this has nothing to do with causation. (Diseases are not caused by stress. They are caused by pathogens.)
In 2006, when this book was published, CFS had long been established as a neuro-immunological illness with a viral etiology. But while Friedberg mentions that overactivity in the RNase L pathway (indicative of viral infections) is linked to CFS symptoms, he then goes on to claim that correcting "personality traits" can lessen the severity of the illness. Friedberg's ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth is only matched by his disregard for basic biology. The failure of Cognitive Behavior Therapy to improve a single CFS symptom stands as proof that viruses don't give a hoot about personality factors.
The truly ironic thing about this book is that it was published the same year that Sophia Mirza died of CFS. Hers was the first recorded death in the UK officially attributed to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. But in reality Sophia was killed by psychologists who stuck her in a mental institution rather than treat her illness. Sophia's autopsy revealed damage to 80% of the dorsal ganglia in her spinal column due to widespread inflammation. (Damage to the dorsal ganglia would account for most CFS symptoms.) Perhaps Fred can explain how a "type A personality" can destroy 80% of a person's spinal cord. (No doubt he'd claim the destruction was due to "catastrophizing.")
If you have been diagnosed with CFS, don't waste your energy reading this book. Get a copy of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide instead. And, for the sake of your health, avoid pop psychologists.
May 15, 2008
Not bad. Although I skipped over A LOT of the information. My problem with self-help books is that there is often too much "information" included in the books. I want to know the facts and what I can do. I don't need a lot of testimonials. I don't want to know the dirt on so and so and how these proven exercises can help.
What I want to know is what to do and how it will help. This book, albeit short as it is, still had too much of the stuff I didn't want or need to know.
There was really only one chapter that I got any real good suggestions from - Chapter 7: Step One, Using Active, Extended Relaxation. He encourages FM and CFS patients to take up the practice of meditation. He makes suggestions for how to do this. He also gives a good relaxation technique - tightening and loosening the body's muscles one by one and feeling the difference between the tension and the relaxtion.
One of the big treatments FM and CFS patients can do is de-stress their lives. He talks about this a lot but doesn't really give a whole lot of suggestions or ideas on how to do that. Or he does and I just don't fit his mold. Most of my stress is work related. Part of my stress is how I react to some difficult situations when they arise, and other stressors is the job itself. I can change my attitude but I can't change my job.
Ultimately I'm in customer service - I work with people who are applying to my department at a major university. I have to answer their questions - which is often the same question over and over and over again - answer email and phones. I've learned how to handle the email stress - I only check my email three times a day instead of leaving it on all the time. I have stock answers for some of the repetitive questions. It's how I deal with the truly stupid that I have a hard time with.
Anyway, it's stressful in other ways too, but my customer service skills are awful. The author doesn't really address how to handle dealing with stress that arises from dealing with other people. He mentions anger and being able to release it, but I need something a little more indepth. Maybe I need to find a book about anger mangement *lol*.
What I want to know is what to do and how it will help. This book, albeit short as it is, still had too much of the stuff I didn't want or need to know.
There was really only one chapter that I got any real good suggestions from - Chapter 7: Step One, Using Active, Extended Relaxation. He encourages FM and CFS patients to take up the practice of meditation. He makes suggestions for how to do this. He also gives a good relaxation technique - tightening and loosening the body's muscles one by one and feeling the difference between the tension and the relaxtion.
One of the big treatments FM and CFS patients can do is de-stress their lives. He talks about this a lot but doesn't really give a whole lot of suggestions or ideas on how to do that. Or he does and I just don't fit his mold. Most of my stress is work related. Part of my stress is how I react to some difficult situations when they arise, and other stressors is the job itself. I can change my attitude but I can't change my job.
Ultimately I'm in customer service - I work with people who are applying to my department at a major university. I have to answer their questions - which is often the same question over and over and over again - answer email and phones. I've learned how to handle the email stress - I only check my email three times a day instead of leaving it on all the time. I have stock answers for some of the repetitive questions. It's how I deal with the truly stupid that I have a hard time with.
Anyway, it's stressful in other ways too, but my customer service skills are awful. The author doesn't really address how to handle dealing with stress that arises from dealing with other people. He mentions anger and being able to release it, but I need something a little more indepth. Maybe I need to find a book about anger mangement *lol*.
March 6, 2019
Admittedly dated, pacing is noted as the most important aspect of living with CFS: keep to a simple schedule each day, no more or less if your functionality fluctuates.
April 25, 2014
This time, I actually need to implement his steps.
1. Relax (meditate) at least one hour a day. Broken into multiple sessions is. ok.
2. Improve sleep quality. Extended relaxation (meditation session) can help. Be sure to practice good sleep hygiene.
3. Pace all your activities, mental and physical, especially when feeling energetic. Don't push yourself to exhaustion.
4. Identify and lesson anger.
1. Relax (meditate) at least one hour a day. Broken into multiple sessions is. ok.
2. Improve sleep quality. Extended relaxation (meditation session) can help. Be sure to practice good sleep hygiene.
3. Pace all your activities, mental and physical, especially when feeling energetic. Don't push yourself to exhaustion.
4. Identify and lesson anger.
October 10, 2015
I may go back and reread this someday. I feel like there could've been more information, more what-to-do.
November 9, 2016
Has some very good information for the sufferers.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews