telegraph.co.uk): "Please include name, address, and work and home
telephone numbers." I posted some "research" on Telegraph letters on
Saturday: http://bit.ly/qv3Zqp i.e.
https://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=3Dind1108D&L=3DCO-CURE&P=3DR25=
31&I=3D-3
. Briefly, on Friday, there were 19 letters ranging from 23-182 words,
with a median word count of 66 words. Looks like anything over 200
words won't make it or will be edited - best to do the editing
yourself, I think, and only send in things under 200 words (and
preferably shorter). Letters are mostly on the stories from the day
before and the day before that i.e. probably best to get letters in in
the next 24-28 hours (even better in the next few hours). Comments can
be posted underneath the article. Tom]
Median length: 66 words
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D
Daily Telegraph
http://tgr.ph/nJW9pJ i.e.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8641007/Protesters-have-got-it-all-wrong-=
on-ME.html
By Max Pemberton
7:30AM BST 29 Aug 2011
23 Comments
Protesters have got it all wrong on ME
That people feel threatened by the idea that ME has a psychological
component says a lot about the stigma of mental illness.
It might seem strange that a group of doctors would be subjected to
harassment, bullying and death threats for attempting to help people.
Even more baffling if the death threats should come from the very
people they were trying to help.
Yet earlier this month, Professor Simon Wessely, a doctor and
pioneering researcher into ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), disclosed
that he and other scientists working on the condition had received
death threats from a small group of protesters who have ME. In
addition, the protesters have made complaints to the General Medical
Council, universities and ethics committees =96 all of which have been
proved to be baseless =96 in an attempt to disrupt further work.
The reason for their behaviour is that research is focusing on the
psychological basis of the condition; as a result of the findings, ME
is now considered to have a significant psychiatric component. While
the protesters represent only a tiny fraction of those with ME, it is
true to say that many others feel strongly about the suggestion that
it has any basis in psychology at all.
Symptoms of ME include extreme fatigue and muscle pain. Sufferers are
sometimes bed-bound or have to use wheelchairs. Many believe that
their condition is the result of a viral infection or exposure to
environmental toxins. Research to date has failed to support
conclusively this hypothesis, much to the chagrin of sufferers, who
feel frustrated and angry that doctors remain sceptical that this is
the actual cause of the illness.
The ME Association, while condemning the death threats, said that
sufferers have a justifiable complaint, as almost no ongoing
government-funded research is looking into the biomedical basis of the
disease. Yet research is being carried out into the viral aspect, with
the Medical Research Council backing a recent study into precisely
this.
In addition, years of research have already been undertaken, which has
produced underwhelming, inconclusive results to support a solely
biomedical cause. It wasn=92t until psychiatrists such as Prof Wessely
started treating the condition psychologically that real progress was
made.
The current gold standard for treatment, as supported by the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), is a combination
of supervised exercise and talking therapies. A major British trial
published in The Lancet found that at least one in three patients with
ME improved or recovered using this approach. The biggest hurdle faced
by doctors is persuading people to actually attend and engage with
treatment. They resist because they refuse to be seen as mentally
unwell. It does seem bizarre that those with such a debilitating
disease would refuse treatment because it was given by a psychiatrist.
Most people are more than happy to be seen by a specialist =96 more than
one if required. If you have a painful knee, for example, you might be
seen by a rheumatologist and an orthopaedic surgeon. The involvement
of representatives of both these specialities would never be regarded
as evidence that you were not believed, or that your welfare was being
undermined.
Microbiologists and immunologists have been unable to help ME
patients, and so psychiatrists have become involved. But that is
considered outrageous. People refuse to go to outpatient appointments
and refuse treatment, despite evidence that it works. Accusations are
thrown around that the medical profession is not taking them
seriously. But, just because doctors frame a condition in terms the
sufferer does not like, does not mean they are not taking it
seriously. That people feel threatened by the idea that ME has a
psychological component says a lot about the stigma of mental illness.
It=92s an attitude that dogs the lives of many people living with mental
health problems. Yet, for me, a psychological explanation is a very
real one. It doesn=92t mean someone is faking it; it doesn=92t mean the
illness doesn=92t exist. It also doesn=92t mean that people should be able
simply to pull their socks up and get better, or that it=92s under
conscious control. However, it is testament to the complexity of the
brain that the mind is capable of such stark physical symptoms. As a
model for understanding a condition, it=92s as valid as any other.
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