Since 1969, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has been classified as a neurological disease in the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Although numerous studies over time have uncovered organic abnormalities in patients with ME/CFS, and the majority of researchers to date classify the disease as organic, many physicians still believe that ME/CFS is a psychosomatic illness. In this article, we show how detrimental this belief is to the care and well-being of affected patients and, as a consequence, how important the education of physicians and the public is to stop misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and stigmatization on the grounds of incorrect psychosomatic attributions about the etiology and clinical course of ME/CFS.
As a Registered Nurse who is receiving actually successful medical treatments for ME/CFS from a big Boston hospital, thank you for sharing this.
My first thought was “wait, people still think it’s psychosomatic?” Then I read the article and realized that they were not referring to people in general, but to actual doctors!
It never fails to amaze – and annoy! – me how often simple curiosity and wide-ranging reading leaves me better informed than many actual professionals. It’s almost like they got their education and training, then stopped engaging.
Anyway, rant over. I’m glad there are people out there taking things seriously and I hope you continue to meet with success in your treatment.