May is M.E awareness month.
M.E stands for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
It’s a scary word for an even scarier condition: and one we don’t yet know enough about.
It affects an estimated 250,000 men, women and children in the UK. Symptoms vary and can include intense exhaustion and chronic pain. For some, it is so severe that they can’t even leave their home or bed.
If this was you, you’d be desperate for treatment. But experts can’t even agree about what it is, let alone how to deal with it.
The main view is that it’s an auto-immune/neurological disease, similar to M.S.
But some argue that it is psycho-somatic.
This means that when you go to your GP, you can expect anything from concern and support to ridicule or disbelief. Which, when it takes all you’ve got to get out of bed, is quite a deterrent.
For more info, check out the Hummingbird Foundation for M.E or read Tanya Marlow’s blog for a brilliant inside view.
(please don’t take this as a criticism, as i LOVE your blog!!!)
I’m just not sure its too helpful to equate “psycho-somatic” with “all in the head”?
This web page might be helpful…
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/psychosomatic-disorders
If M.E. were in part a psychological illness (as you say, no-one knows the cause, so I am just saying hypothetically, as I really don’t know enough about it)…or, at the very least affected by mental factors (as that link says most conditions are), then why is this a problem? Why insist on it being 100% organic/physical? Are mental health problems worth less, or do they cause less significant problems?! In my opinion ruling out a psychosomatic element (when it is still unknown what the cause is) may unfortunately help to undermine the significance and reality of other mental health problems.
Just a thought!
Good point sarah – thank-you. I’m editing it now…
Oooh I’m glad you got what I meant! I completely agree that a lot of patients with M.E. face awful ridicule and disbelief, so thank you for your post.
And generally thank you for your blog – it is fantastic!