Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and the Stress Spiral

Stress and anxiety are an unfortunate, butand healthcare providers into action.
sometimes necessary and inevitable feature ofSufferers no longer have to fight against the
modern life.labeling that was common with previous
As with diet, obesity, alcohol and smoking I amgenerations which took the basic premise that
afraid that the news is simple. They have to be"stress, depression and anxiety are all in the mind
addressed.and are a sign of weakness"
Learning to deal with stress is something that canHow stress can maintain and exacerbate CFS and
be consciously learned and practiced and newFibromyalgia
techniques have proven very effective.Stress, depression and anxiety are known to slow
A higher than average percentage of patientsdown and in severe cases prevent recovery
undergoing Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatiguefrom infectious illnesses, and this is partly where
treatment are, or were, engaged in high stressthe confusion and malpractice surrounding the CFS
environments.depression arena was instigated and fed by
This may be or have been at home, as carers ofgeneral practice and psychologists over the last
relatives or young children. It may have been infew decades.
work detail or during a divorce or home move.The dividing line between the two conditions can
Whatever the cause a significant increase inappear very close to the untrained eye, but on
stress is frequently cited at the time of onset ofcloser inspection CFS and Fibromyalgia do in fact
the sufferers Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatiguehave a totally unique subset of features when
Syndrome symptoms.compared to depression of any type.
As well as being implicated pre-onset, stressTo further muddy the waters both CFS and
reactions are involved in the maintenance anddepression cause physical symptoms which can
exacerbation of the Syndrome post-onset.be similar to each other on initial presentation and
Blood pressure, heart rate, the entire endocrinealso there is crossover with the symptoms of
system which controls hormone production are allvarious infectious illnesses of the rheumatic and
implicated and involved during stress reactions.auto-immune spectrum.
Unfortunately, the system that directly controls allAs I have mentioned several times in my text,
these systems, the Autonomic Nervous System,establishment apathy and nonchalance about the
in particular the Sympathetic Nervous System ortrue nature of CFS and Fibromyalgia have lead to
"day nerve" remains malfunctional post-onset.it being sidelined as a subdivision of psychology
The result, unfortunately, will be an exacerbatedand particularly depression.
negative reaction of your Fatigue and FibromyalgiaHistorically, when help is sought, sufferers are left
symptoms to stress and anxiety producingfeeling isolated and misunderstood to the extent
situations.that they will begin to hide their symptoms, live in
To make matters worse there is evidence thatdenial worried about other peoples reactions, and
once activated the stress reaction lastspress on regardless while understating their illness.
abnormally longer in patients afflicted withUnfortunately, these typical reactions only serve
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.to heighten overall stress levels which is precisely
Is CFS more common in stressed people?the opposite of the reaction needed for
Let me first give a very broad outline of howrecuperation and so leads to a further
general medical advice is presented to Healthcareexacerbation and worsening of symptoms.
providers in diagnosing Fibromyalgia and CFSA lot of sufferers understandably avoid further
patients:professional help.
"frequently seen characteristics of CFS andSome work very hard to find a cure and
Fibromyalgia patientsconvince people that CFS/ME/Fibromyalgia is a
* People who through their own personal attitudesreal illness. This leads to sufferers experiencing a
and anxieties tend to make their own lives moresdesperate urgency to recover which is met and
stressful.fed by a cynical and irresponsible health industry
* People who are highly ambitious, they appear tofull of fake cures, miracle pills and treatments.
be always active physically and mentally.All this while sufferers are feeling threatened,
* People whose lives are fully absorbed copingscared, angry, stigmatized and generally ill.
with the needs and requirements of others.The stress cycle goes even higher, and the result,
* People who avoid taking the time they need forsufferers sink even lower.
themselves to rest, relax and recuperate and buildThere are times in a person life when it may
supportive relationships that are entirely their own.become particularly difficult to actually be ill at all.
*People who have difficulty finding others toFor example as a carer of an ill relative, or a baby
confide in, so bottling up years of emotions andor young children, during a period of house
pain at times of bereavement or loss. "renovation or construction, the demands of work
In itself this is not an inaccurate description ofas primary source of income.
frequently seen characteristics of Fibromyalgia andIn the absence of people that can help practically
CFS sufferers. However it is so broad that it canand emotionally in these life scenarios it can be
describe patients with a multitude of othervery difficult to actually say "STOP".
conditions.Traditional medicine understood the importance of
As I have said many times the human body is arecuperation, rest, relaxation and contemplation as
remarkably resilient organism, able toan important therapeutical facet of overcoming
accommodate fantastic pressures and stresses,serious illnesses and infections.
but as with all machines and organisms thereIn the presence of a frightening array of diseases
comes a breaking point.which are now largely purged from modern
Stress appears to be a very large facilitatingsociety, and the absence of powerful antibiotics
factor for people who become the unfortunateand antivirals, painkillers and analgesics, the body
ones to develop CFS and Fibromyalgia postwas largely left to its own devices.
"trigger" infection or trauma.In Traditional medicine patients were often
A lesser, but still analogous example of stresstreated with herbal tonics and natural cures, a lot
related conditions is frequently referred to asof these were incidentally quite effective but have
"burnout", or simply "stress" and I quote.now been largely forgotten, dismissed or
"A series of personal life circumstances combinedismantled and reproduced in synthetic form to
to create a "breaking point", for example; deathprovide the basis of 75% of modern
of a close family member, chronic pain, movingpharmaceuticals.
house, bullying at work, divorce, separation,However the primary strategy of the era
financial loss or redundancy have all been linked toinvolved long periods of rest and recuperation.
detrimental changes in health "By contrast, modern medicine and society place
How stress can become a causal factor inmore importance on masking the symptoms, "
Fibromyalgia and CFSkeeping a stiff upper lip", "knocking it on the head"
The initial trauma that was the notable "trigger" ofand "getting back on the job" as quickly as
your CFS or Fibromyalgia is usually cited as apossible.
bacterial/viral or chemically invasive attack ofA "get well quick" protocol which unfortunately is
some kind, but it has been noted that in somecompletely at odds with a recuperative strategy
sufferers extreme acute stress, such asfor illnesses such as CFS and fibromyalgia.
bereavement, divorce, bullying, extremes ofLearning to control and reduce stress is an
overwork may also be a trigger for CFSimportant and essential adjunct to any CFS and
symptoms in the absence of a notable infectionFibromyalgia recovery strategy.
or exposure.You will need to learn how to recognize stress
This makes sense in that scientific evidence hasand how to short circuit the sequence of events
shown conclusively that stress lowers our immunethat leads to a "stress spiral".
defenses against infection as witnessed by whiteTechniques of physical and psychological relaxation
blood cell and lymphocyte counts.are essential and very effective.
Also, stress has been shown to directly affectLearning when to say NO is essential and avoiding
the body in the short to medium term causingall events and activities that place you under
extreme fatigue and more disabling problems suchunnecessary stress or anxiety are essential in the
as migraine, impairment of concentration andshort to medium term.
memory and interrupted sleep patterns.In my next article on this subject I will be talking
Fortunately, as a society we have been wokenabout techniques that can be used effectively to
up to the negative effects of stress.short circuit and alleviate stress and anxiety at
As is often the case it has taken the negativehome, in the car and at the workplace.
economic implications of stress to spur employers