What exactly is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?* Sometimes referred to as ME or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, it is a term that describes a chronic, debilitating disorder that affects the immune and central nervous system. Typical of its symptoms are a profound fatigue, totally out of proportion to a person's physical activity and independent of mood, plus a range of other symptoms that can affect any organ of the body. The causes of CFS are unknown. Indeed there appear to be any number of apparent causes and in many cases the onset seems to be linked to a stress to the immune system such as an acute infection, especially viral in nature. After the stress or virus has run its course the symptoms do not abate as you would expect but set in, becoming chronic and are often associated with profound fatigue and feelings of general malaise.
The symptoms of CFS are a prolonged and disabling feeling of exhaustion lasting at least six months. The symptoms are often made worse by any activity and are often unrelieved by sleep. Symptoms vary between people but may include persistent and profound fatigue, exhaustion, flu-like symptoms including a sore throat, fever and sore lymph glands, muscle and joint aches, pains and weakness, headaches, nausea, balance disturbances, dizziness, vision problems and sensitivity to light and noise, sensitivity to foods and common chemicals, thoracic symptoms including palpitations and breathing difficulties and sleeping problems including insomnia and an excessive desire to sleep. Western medical science has no specific diagnostic test at the moment. As a result diagnosis must be made by excluding other illnesses. This can be a long, difficult and costly process. Many CFS symptoms overlap with those of a number of other illnesses including multiple sclerosis. Nor is the symptom of chronic fatigue confined to CFS. Just about anyone can get CFS however it seems that it is most common among 20 to 40 year olds and women outnumber men. Symptoms can last from a few months to years. Some people make a gradual recovery, some never fully recover and others become progressively worse.
At this stage western medicine has no cure and because there is no definitive diagnostic test some skeptics claim that it is 'all in the mind'. Other experts say that it is rather 'a condition in which the physical and psychological intermesh'. These comments are interesting from an Alexander Technique perspective. From his earliest experiments F.M. Alexander realized that it was impossible to separate the physical and the mental and spoke of the indivisible unity of the body and mind, a concept that is hardly revolutionary today. Yet we see the strong Cartesian influence in the thinking of western medical experts who perceive 'mind' and 'body' as distinctly separate elements. How could it be otherwise that the physical and psychological intermesh, for as Alexander puts it, we are psycho-physical beings. Here we run directly up against the limitations of the western medical model, which has the underlying assumption that each disease has a single cause that can be identified by 'objective testing' and that this information determines the best treatment. The model also suggests that the solution to any health problem depends almost entirely on the actions of physicians and the health care system and very little on the actions of the patient. It virtually ignores the patient's thoughts and feelings concentrating pretty much exclusively on the physical aspect. This is not to say that good medical care should not be sought. Indeed if you have a serious injury or pathology you sure as hell want that medical model in place because it works and works very well - but only up to a point!
