Psychology Chartered

The Effects of and Managing M.E/CFS {Chronic Fatigue Syndrome}

Posted by Chloe

7th May 2019

By Nathan Harper

CFS is a long-term illness. It can be diagnosed after the contraction of one or more symptoms. The most common symptoms are:

  • Extreme tiredness
  • Feeling unwell
  • Pain in muscles/joints
  • Headaches
  • Sore throat
  • Sore glands
  • Issues with thinking, concentrating or remembering
  • Flu symptoms
  • Dizziness/sickness
  • Heart palpitations
  • Causes

    It’s not exactly known to health professionals what causes CFS/M.E

    One of the key tips for dealing with CFS is not to overexcercise as that can make the severity of the illness worse. The severity of the illness can fluctuate from day-to-day or maybe within the same day. Always go to your GP to get an accurate diagnosis.
    It may be triggered by:

  • Infection, viral or bacterial e.g. pneumonia, glandular fever
  • Problems with your immune system
  • A hormone imbalance
  • Mental health problems e.g. stress, emotional trauma
  • There is evidence CFS/ME seems to be more common in families. Living with the disease can be hard as tiredness can make it difficult to carry out everyday activities, you may have
    to make some changes to your lifestyle

    Treatments
    Treatments depend on how the illness is affecting you, but mostly revolve around:

  • Cognitive behavioural therapy
  • A structured graded exercise therapy programme
  • Medication or drug treatments to control pain, nausea and sleeping problems
  • Make sure that you schedule proper rest into every day, learn to prioritise key tasks and combine a sensible exercise schedule with a balanced diet. Also,

  • Keep a fatigue diary and undertake fatigue management programme
  • Take prescribed drug treatments
  • Improve your body posture
  • Organise a living and working space
  • Undergo a social care assessment, this can identify tasks/things that social services or healthcare professionals may be able to help with.