| mikeearnsh@yahoo.co.uk. | | | | As is often the case it has taken the negative |
| Best regards | | | | economicimplications of stress to spur employers and |
| Mark Shaw | | | | healthcareproviders into action. |
| Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and the | | | | Sufferers no longer have to fight against the labeling |
| Stress Spiral | | | | thatwas common with previous generations which |
| Stress and anxiety are an unfortunate, but | | | | took the basicpremise that "stress, depression and |
| sometimesnecessary and inevitable feature of | | | | anxiety are all in themind and are a sign of |
| modern life. | | | | weakness" |
| As with diet, obesity, alcohol and smoking I am afraid | | | | How stress can maintain and exacerbate CFS and |
| thatthe news is simple. They have to be addressed. | | | | Fibromyalgia |
| Learning to deal with stress is something that can | | | | Stress, depression and anxiety are known to slow |
| beconsciously learned and practiced and new | | | | down andin severe cases prevent recovery from |
| techniques haveproven very effective. | | | | infectious illnesses,and this is partly where the |
| A higher than average percentage of patients | | | | confusion and malpracticesurrounding the CFS |
| undergoing | | | | depression arena was instigated and fedby general |
| Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue treatment are, or | | | | practice and psychologists over the last fewdecades. |
| were,engaged in high stress environments. | | | | The dividing line between the two conditions can |
| This may be or have been at home, as carers of | | | | appearvery close to the untrained eye, but on closer |
| relatives oryoung children. It may have been in work | | | | inspection |
| detail or during adivorce or home move. | | | | CFS and Fibromyalgia do in fact have a totally |
| Whatever the cause a significant increase in stress | | | | uniquesubset of features when compared to |
| isfrequently cited at the time of onset of the | | | | depression of any type. |
| sufferers | | | | To further muddy the waters both CFS and |
| Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms. | | | | depression causephysical symptoms which can be |
| As well as being implicated pre-onset, stress reactions | | | | similar to each other oninitial presentation and also |
| areinvolved in the maintenance and exacerbation of | | | | there is crossover with thesymptoms of various |
| the | | | | infectious illnesses of the rheumaticand auto-immune |
| Syndrome post-onset. | | | | spectrum. |
| Blood pressure, heart rate, the entire endocrine | | | | As I have mentioned several times in my text, |
| systemwhich controls hormone production are all | | | | establishmentapathy and nonchalance about the true |
| implicated andinvolved during stress reactions. | | | | nature of CFS and |
| Unfortunately, the system that directly controls all | | | | Fibromyalgia have lead to it being sidelined as |
| thesesystems, the Autonomic Nervous System, in | | | | asubdivision of psychology and particularly depression. |
| particular the | | | | Historically, when help is sought, sufferers are |
| Sympathetic Nervous System or "day nerve" | | | | leftfeeling isolated and misunderstood to the extent |
| remainsmalfunctional post-onset. | | | | that theywill begin to hide their symptoms, live in |
| The result, unfortunately, will be an exacerbated | | | | denial worriedabout other peoples reactions, and |
| negativereaction of your Fatigue and Fibromyalgia | | | | press on regardlesswhile understating their illness. |
| symptoms tostress and anxiety producing situations. | | | | Unfortunately, these typical reactions only serve |
| To make matters worse there is evidence that once | | | | toheighten overall stress levels which is precisely |
| activatedthe stress reaction lasts abnormally longer in | | | | theopposite of the reaction needed for recuperation |
| patientsafflicted with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue | | | | and soleads to a further exacerbation and worsening |
| Syndrome. | | | | of symptoms. |
| Is CFS more common in stressed people? | | | | A lot of sufferers understandably avoid |
| Let me first give a very broad outline of how | | | | furtherprofessional help. |
| generalmedical advice is presented to Healthcare | | | | Some work very hard to find a cure and convince |
| providers indiagnosing Fibromyalgia and CFS patients: | | | | people that |
| "frequently seen characteristics of CFS and | | | | CFS/ME/Fibromyalgia is a real illness. This leads |
| Fibromyalgiapatients | | | | tosufferers experiencing a desperate urgency to |
| * People who through their own personal attitudes | | | | recover whichis met and fed by a cynical and |
| andanxieties tend to make their own lives mores | | | | irresponsible healthindustry full of fake cures, miracle |
| stressful. | | | | pills and treatments. |
| * People who are highly ambitious, they appear to be | | | | All this while sufferers are feeling threatened, |
| alwaysactive physically and mentally. | | | | scared,angry, stigmatized and generally ill. |
| * People whose lives are fully absorbed coping with | | | | The stress cycle goes even higher, and the |
| theneeds and requirements of others. | | | | result,sufferers sink even lower. |
| * People who avoid taking the time they need for | | | | There are times in a person life when it may |
| themselvesto rest, relax and recuperate and build | | | | becomeparticularly difficult to actually be ill at all. |
| supportiverelationships that are entirely their own. | | | | For example as a carer of an ill relative, or a baby |
| *People who have difficulty finding others to confide | | | | oryoung children, during a period of house renovation |
| in,so bottling up years of emotions and pain at times | | | | orconstruction, the demands of work as primary |
| ofbereavement or loss. " | | | | source ofincome. |
| In itself this is not an inaccurate description | | | | In the absence of people that can help practically |
| offrequently seen characteristics of Fibromyalgia and | | | | andemotionally in these life scenarios it can be |
| CFSsufferers. However it is so broad that it can | | | | verydifficult to actually say "STOP". |
| describepatients with a multitude of other conditions. | | | | Traditional medicine understood the importance |
| As I have said many times the human body is a | | | | ofrecuperation, rest, relaxation and contemplation as |
| remarkablyresilient organism, able to accommodate | | | | animportant therapeutical facet of overcoming |
| fantastic pressuresand stresses, but as with all | | | | seriousillnesses and infections. |
| machines and organisms therecomes a breaking point. | | | | In the presence of a frightening array of diseases |
| Stress appears to be a very large facilitating factor | | | | whichare now largely purged from modern society, |
| forpeople who become the unfortunate ones to | | | | and the absenceof powerful antibiotics and antivirals, |
| develop CFS and | | | | painkillers andanalgesics, the body was largely left to |
| Fibromyalgia post "trigger" infection or trauma. | | | | its own devices. |
| A lesser, but still analogous example of stress | | | | In Traditional medicine patients were often treated |
| relatedconditions is frequently referred to as | | | | withherbal tonics and natural cures, a lot of these |
| "burnout", orsimply "stress" and I quote. | | | | wereincidentally quite effective but have now been |
| "A series of personal life circumstances combine to | | | | largelyforgotten, dismissed or dismantled and |
| createa "breaking point", for example; death of a | | | | reproduced insynthetic form to provide the basis of |
| close familymember, chronic pain, moving house, | | | | 75% of modernpharmaceuticals. |
| bullying at work,divorce, separation, financial loss or | | | | However the primary strategy of the era involved |
| redundancy have allbeen linked to detrimental | | | | longperiods of rest and recuperation. |
| changes in health " | | | | By contrast, modern medicine and society place |
| How stress can become a causal factor in | | | | moreimportance on masking the symptoms, " |
| Fibromyalgia and | | | | keeping a stiff upperlip", "knocking it on the head" |
| CFS | | | | and "getting back on thejob" as quickly as possible. |
| The initial trauma that was the notable "trigger" of | | | | A "get well quick" protocol which unfortunately |
| your | | | | iscompletely at odds with a recuperative strategy |
| CFS or Fibromyalgia is usually cited as a bacterial | | | | forillnesses such as CFS and fibromyalgia. |
| viralor chemically invasive attack of some kind, but it | | | | Learning to control and reduce stress is an important |
| has beennoted that in some sufferers extreme acute | | | | andessential adjunct to any CFS and Fibromyalgia |
| stress, such asbereavement, divorce, bullying, | | | | recoverystrategy. |
| extremes of overwork mayalso be a trigger for CFS | | | | You will need to learn how to recognize stress and |
| symptoms in the absence of anotable infection or | | | | how toshort circuit the sequence of events that |
| exposure. | | | | leads to a |
| This makes sense in that scientific evidence has | | | | "stress spiral". |
| shownconclusively that stress lowers our immune | | | | Techniques of physical and psychological relaxation |
| defenses againstinfection as witnessed by white | | | | areessential and very effective. |
| blood cell and lymphocytecounts. | | | | Learning when to say NO is essential and avoiding |
| Also, stress has been shown to directly affect the | | | | allevents and activities that place you under |
| body inthe short to medium term causing extreme | | | | unnecessarystress or anxiety are essential in the |
| fatigue and moredisabling problems such as migraine, | | | | short to medium term. |
| impairment ofconcentration and memory and | | | | In my next article on this subject I will be talking |
| interrupted sleep patterns. | | | | abouttechniques that can be used effectively to |
| Fortunately, as a society we have been woken up to | | | | short circuitand alleviate stress and anxiety at home, |
| thenegative effects of stress. | | | | in the car and atthe workplace. |