Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and the Stress Spiral

Stress and anxiety are an unfortunate, but				As is often the case it has taken the
sometimes necessary and inevitable feature of				negative economic implications of stress to
modern life.				spur employers and healthcare providers into
				action.
As with diet, obesity, alcohol and smoking I
am afraid that the news is simple. They have				Sufferers no longer have to fight against the
to be addressed.				labeling that was common with previous
				generations which took the basic premise that
Learning to deal with stress is something				"stress, depression and anxiety are all in
that can be consciously learned and practiced				the mind and are a sign of weakness"
and new techniques have proven very
effective.				How stress can maintain and exacerbate CFS
				and Fibromyalgia
A higher than average percentage of patients
undergoing Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue				Stress, depression and anxiety are known to
treatment are, or were, engaged in high				slow down and in severe cases prevent
stress environments.				recovery from infectious illnesses, and this
				is partly where the confusion and malpractice
This may be or have been at home, as carers				surrounding the CFS/depression arena was
of relatives or young children. It may have				instigated and fed by general practice and
been in work detail or during a divorce or				psychologists over the last few decades.
home move.
				The dividing line between the two conditions
Whatever the cause a significant increase in				can appear very close to the untrained eye,
stress is frequently cited at the time of				but on closer inspection CFS and Fibromyalgia
onset of the sufferers Fibromyalgia or				do in fact have a totally unique subset of
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms.				features when compared to depression of any
				type.
As well as being implicated pre-onset, stress
reactions are involved in the maintenance and				To further muddy the waters both CFS and
exacerbation of the Syndrome post-onset.				depression cause physical symptoms which can
				be similar to each other on initial
Blood pressure, heart rate, the entire				presentation and also there is crossover with
endocrine system which controls hormone				the symptoms of various infectious illnesses
production are all implicated and involved				of the rheumatic and auto-immune spectrum.
during stress reactions.
				As I have mentioned several times in my text,
Unfortunately, the system that directly				establishment apathy and nonchalance about
controls all these systems, the Autonomic				the true nature of CFS and Fibromyalgia have
Nervous System, in particular the Sympathetic				lead to it being sidelined as a subdivision
Nervous System or "day nerve" remains				of psychology and particularly depression.
malfunctional post-onset.
				Historically, when help is sought, sufferers
The result, unfortunately, will be an				are left feeling isolated and misunderstood
exacerbated negative reaction of your Fatigue				to the extent that they will begin to hide
and Fibromyalgia symptoms to stress and				their symptoms, live in denial worried about
anxiety producing situations.				other peoples reactions, and press on
				regardless while understating their illness.
To make matters worse there is evidence that
once activated the stress reaction lasts				Unfortunately, these typical reactions only
abnormally longer in patients afflicted with				serve to heighten overall stress levels which
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.				is precisely the opposite of the reaction
				needed for recuperation and so leads to a
Is CFS more common in stressed people?				further exacerbation and worsening of
				symptoms.
Let me first give a very broad outline of how
general medical advice is presented to				A lot of sufferers understandably avoid
Healthcare providers in diagnosing				further professional help.
Fibromyalgia and CFS patients:
				Some work very hard to find a cure and
"frequently seen characteristics of CFS and				convince people that CFS/ME/Fibromyalgia is a
Fibromyalgia patients				real illness. This leads to sufferers
				experiencing a desperate urgency to recover
* People who through their own personal				which is met and fed by a cynical and
attitudes and anxieties tend to make their				irresponsible health industry full of fake
own lives mores stressful.				cures, miracle pills and treatments.

* People who are highly ambitious, they				All this while sufferers are feeling
appear to be always active physically and				threatened, scared, angry, stigmatized and
mentally.				generally ill.

* People whose lives are fully absorbed				The stress cycle goes even higher, and the
coping with the needs and requirements of				result, sufferers sink even lower.
others.
				There are times in a person life when it may
* People who avoid taking the time they need				become particularly difficult to actually be
for themselves to rest, relax and recuperate				ill at all.
and build supportive relationships that are
entirely their own.				For example as a carer of an ill relative, or
				a baby or young children, during a period of
*People who have difficulty finding others to				house renovation or construction, the demands
confide in, so bottling up years of emotions				of work as primary source of income.
and pain at times of bereavement or loss. "
				In the absence of people that can help
In itself this is not an inaccurate				practically and emotionally in these life
description of frequently seen				scenarios it can be very difficult to
characteristics of Fibromyalgia and CFS				actually say "STOP".
sufferers. However it is so broad that it can
describe patients with a multitude of other				Traditional medicine understood the
conditions.				importance of recuperation, rest, relaxation
				and contemplation as an important
As I have said many times the human body is a				therapeutical facet of overcoming serious
remarkably resilient organism, able to				illnesses and infections.
accommodate fantastic pressures and stresses,
but as with all machines and organisms there				In the presence of a frightening array of
comes a breaking point.				diseases which are now largely purged from
				modern society, and the absence of powerful
Stress appears to be a very large				antibiotics and antivirals, painkillers and
facilitating factor for people who become the				analgesics, the body was largely left to its
unfortunate ones to develop CFS and				own devices.
Fibromyalgia post "trigger" infection or
trauma.				In Traditional medicine patients were often
				treated with herbal tonics and natural cures,
A lesser, but still analogous example of				a lot of these were incidentally quite
stress related conditions is frequently				effective but have now been largely
referred to as "burnout", or simply "stress"				forgotten, dismissed or dismantled and
and I quote.				reproduced in synthetic form to provide the
				basis of 75% of modern pharmaceuticals.
"A series of personal life circumstances
combine to create a "breaking point", for				However the primary strategy of the era
example; death of a close family member,				involved long periods of rest and
chronic pain, moving house, bullying at work,				recuperation.
divorce, separation, financial loss or
redundancy have all been linked to				By contrast, modern medicine and society
detrimental changes in health "				place more importance on masking the
				symptoms, " keeping a stiff upper lip",
How stress can become a causal factor in				"knocking it on the head" and "getting back
Fibromyalgia and CFS				on the job" as quickly as possible.

The initial trauma that was the notable				A "get well quick" protocol which
"trigger" of your CFS or Fibromyalgia is				unfortunately is completely at odds with a
usually cited as a bacterial/viral or				recuperative strategy for illnesses such as
chemically invasive attack of some kind, but				CFS and fibromyalgia.
it has been noted that in some sufferers
extreme acute stress, such as bereavement,				Learning to control and reduce stress is an
divorce, bullying, extremes of overwork may				important and essential adjunct to any CFS
also be a trigger for CFS symptoms in the				and Fibromyalgia recovery strategy.
absence of a notable infection or exposure.
				You will need to learn how to recognize
This makes sense in that scientific evidence				stress and how to short circuit the sequence
has shown conclusively that stress lowers our				of events that leads to a "stress spiral".
immune defenses against infection as
witnessed by white blood cell and lymphocyte				Techniques of physical and psychological
counts.				relaxation are essential and very effective.

Also, stress has been shown to directly				Learning when to say NO is essential and
affect the body in the short to medium term				avoiding all events and activities that place
causing extreme fatigue and more disabling				you under unnecessary stress or anxiety are
problems such as migraine, impairment of				essential in the short to medium term.
concentration and memory and interrupted
sleep patterns.				In my next article on this subject I will be
				talking about techniques that can be used
Fortunately, as a society we have been woken				effectively to short circuit and alleviate
up to the negative effects of stress.				stress and anxiety at home, in the car and at
				the workplace.

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The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and the Stress Spiral