ME/CFS: Are You Making This Mistake? Part 1

In Part 1 Hypnotherapist and Trainer Simon Pimenta discusses the limitations of the medical model of health and how it can influence our beliefs about our health and wellbeing.

Time To Read: 4 minutes.

Let me absolutely clear from the outset that I believe that ME/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are real conditions. They are not all in the mind. I had ME/CFS and FM for 8 years. You are not to blame or at fault for having these conditions.

This blog post comes with a Health Warning:

1. What I am about to share MAY affect your health positively.

2. If you are a hardened cynic, then you might not get much from reading this blog. To be fair, we can all be cynical at times, but being so certain that our view is the right one can mean that we do not consider perspectives that could be beneficial to us.

3. If you are a healthy sceptic- someone who says “I am open minded, but you are going to have to convince me”, or are simply curious about this topic, read on.

4. I’m not suggesting that I have all the answers. I am proposing a perspective that may be thought provoking and challenge some people’s thinking.

5. Having one’s beliefs challenged can be uncomfortable, and can provoke emotions, because if someone shares a perspective that is different to ours, we can respond by feeling that they are suggesting that we are wrong or at fault. I challenge myself to to be curious about my reactions and learn from them, and to explore what they tell me about myself. I find it helpful to focus not on who is right, but what is right. So if someone shares a perspective that I think is more useful then my current one, I aim to be compassionate to myself if I notice that I am feeling bad when someone challenges my views, and aim to not take it personally. I also aim to take on board this new way of seeing things. If I don’t fully agree with them, I am happy to engage in dialogue to exchange ideas, which is usually fruitful, as long as both parties aren’t wedded to ‘being right’, but are genuinely open and interested in learning from others.

Models of Health
There are two models of health that I want to discuss:
1. The Medical Model
2. The Holistic Model

1. The Medical Model
The medical model of health is heavily influenced by the work of Louis Pasteur, and his work has shaped the way we think about health. Pasteur’s work contributed to the germ theory of disease. This theory proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases. There is evidence to support this theory. However, it is not the whole story. There are a number of potential problems with subscribing to this model of health, and it can limit the way we think about our health and wellbeing in the following ways:

1. Doctors become the Guardians of Our Health
We look to the Medical profession to ‘fix’ our health issues. We expect the scientists and pharmaceutical companies to find a cure to solve our ills.

2. We can become passive recipients of health care.
We assume that the Doctor knows best, rather than using the Doctors expertise to diagnose the problem, and then consider a range of options as to how to resolve the health issues.

3. We don’t look into the side effects of drugs.
I have worked with many clients who dutifully took the drugs that the Doctor prescribed, having no idea of potential side effects. Some of them experienced serious side effects, which they said made their condition worse. A Head Community Pharmacist I used to work with, told me that Pharmacists often know more about the pharmacology of drugs than Doctors. So find a good Pharmacist. Your Health Authority may be able to direct you to an NHS Pharmacist. Drugs can be life saving, and are essential to our health and wellbeing, but at times they are overused, and there are often safer alternatives.

4. We can end up taking less responsibility for our health.
We don’t think of our health as our business. One example of this is taking drugs to lower blood pressure, rather than losing weight and changing diet and lifestyle. Of course if you have ME/CFS, then your ability to exercise may be currently limited.

5. We Treat Symptoms Rather Than Underlying Causes
The example given above of treating high blood pressure with drugs rather than addressing the underlying causes illustrates this point. Of course, sometimes identifying underlying causes is not as simple as it sounds, but I believe that all too often this approach is not given due consideration.

6. We don’t look beyond the Medical Model. 
People will say (as did I) that they got ill because we got a virus for instance, without looking at the bigger picture of other factors that may have contributed to getting ill. This will be different for each individual, and some factors may be relevant for some, but not others. It is not always easy to identify these other factors. When I work with people, they often become more aware of some of factors that contributed to them getting ill.

In my case, getting flu preceded 8 years of CFS, but I believe that there were a number of factors that contributed to getting ill, including a stressful job, which resulted in my health deteriorating over a period of time, lifestyle habits; for instance burning the candle at both ends, and not saying no to things when I already felt compromised, both in my work and non-work life.

Let me be clear that this is not an attack on conventional medicine. Technological advances in medicine and diagnosing problems have saved countless lives. However, some respected Commentators believe that conventional medicine is less effective at prevention and curing certain conditions, and that the number of health problems and deaths due to medical intervention is alarmingly high.

Challenging The Medical Model:The Bergen Incident
An incident in Bergen, Norway gives an interesting perspective on understanding health and disease, and may give some insight into understanding ME/CFS. In 2004 in Bergen there was a high incidence of people being diagnosed with Post viral fatigue and CFS, which was linked to a waterborne outbreak of giardiasis. I worked with over 40 clients from Bergen who had this diagnosis. Many asked the same question: “Both my partner/wife/husband etc and I drank the same water. I ended up with fatigue, but they didn’t. How come?”

In Part 2 I will explore the answer to this question, and show how the thinking of one of Pasteur’s contemporaries demonstrated the shortcomings of the germ theory, and look at the implications of this for our health and wellbeing. You can read Part 2 here

Comments
This article is part of some research I am conducting. I would be extremely grateful if you would take 2 minutes of your time to give me some feedback by answering these questions in the comments box below.

Feel free to contact me here if you have any questions. I’d love to hear from you.

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  SIMON PIMENTA is a hypnotherapist, coach and trainer working with people to boost resilience and performance, and minimise stress. After working in a demanding job as the Director of a Housing Trust, he went off sick and remained unable to work for the next 8 years. He discovered a pioneering approach to resolving health issues and quickly got back his health, and now trains others using these same techniques, to help them become happier, healthier and achieve their goals.