Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Chronic Fatigue And Psychiatric Disorders

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are serious, debilitating conditions that affect millions of people in the United States and around the world. ME/CFS can cause significant impairment and disability. Despite substantial efforts by researchers to better understand ME/CFS, there is no known cause or effective treatment. Diagnosing the disease remains a challenge, and patients often struggle with their illness for years before an identification is made. Some health care providers have been skeptical about the serious physiological - rather than psychological - nature of the illness. Once diagnosed, patients often complain of receiving hostility from their health care provider as well as being subjected to treatment strategies that exacerbate their symptoms. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome proposes new diagnostic clinical criteria for ME/CFS and a new term for the illness - systemic exertion intolerance disease(SEID). According to this report, the term myalgic encephalomyelitis does not accurately describe this illness, and the term chronic fatigue syndrome can result in trivialization and stigmatization for patients afflicted with this illness. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome stresses that SEID is a medical - not a psychiatric or psychological - illness. This report lists the major symptoms of SEID and recommends a diagnostic process.One of the report's most important conclusions is that a thorough history, physical examination, and targeted work-up are necessary and often sufficient for diagnosis. The new criteria will allow a large percentage of undiagnosed patients to receive an accurate diagnosis and appropriate care. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome will be a valuable resource to promote the prompt diagnosis of patients with this complex, multisystem, and often devastating disorder; enhance public understanding; and provide a firm foundation for future improvements in diagnosis and treatment.

Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical, Legal, and Patient Perspectives explores methods to assess severity of illness and impairment in persons suffering with CFS. It shows that more work needs to be done to develop objective measures of impairment that accurately reflect the patient's degree of disability. Contributors explore possible answers to the questions: How can a clinician quantify the degree of impairment? How can the legal and judicial systems weigh the facts and the impact of this illness on each person with CFS? How does a patient persevere and get past the barriers, despite his/her illness?

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is one of the most enigmatic medical disorders of our time, striking adults most often in their most productive years. With the controversial debate over cause and treatment of the illness in mind, the authors seek to unravel many of the questions surrounding the disorder and its features and characteristics. Integrating an overview of the latest research with patients' personal experiences, they look at CFS in relation to: * clinical features * personal and economic implications * biological and psychosocial factors * experiencing symptoms * coping with the illness. This book will provide hope for people with chronic fatigue syndrome and will assist health professionals in working with people with CFS to improve their quality of life.

Documents the latest results and opinions on the causes and possible cures for this disorder. Coverage includes retroviral involvement, immunity, pathophysiology and pharmacological treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Complete Coverage of chronic fatigue syndrome The Handbook of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome provides authoritative coverage of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). A leading group of international contributors present up-to-date information and guidance to improve the understanding, proper identification, and treatment of this debilitating disease. The handbook's comprehensive, multidisciplinary format draws on the medical, as well as mental health-related, aspects of CFS, including: History, diagnosis, and classification Phenomenology Symptomatology Assessment Treatment and intervention Pediatric and community issues Topics covered include complexity of diagnosis, social effects of chronic disorders, and a variety of treatment techniques, including phase-based therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, exercise therapy, and nutritional approaches. An insightful and unique resource, the Handbook of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an enlightening book for all mental health professionals, including psychologists, social workers, and counselors, as well as medical personnel, such as nurses, physicians, and physical-occupational therapists.

Help young CFS sufferers cope with this debilitating illness Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness that can have devastating effects for those afflicted, especially children and adolescents. Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome discusses this growing problem and its many facets in depth, including the mounting prevalence of incidents in the population and detailed explanations of diagnostic criteria. Case studies are provided to illustrate the issues those afflicted with CFS face, such as increasing isolation, decreasing school attendance, the length of time it typically takes to get diagnosed, and the impact on leisure activities. Current criteria for CFS were designed for use in adults, with few studies done on assessing how appropriate these criteria are for children and adolescents. Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome provides the criteria for first-time diagnosis of pediatric CFS and includes practical recommendations developed by the International Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Pediatric Case Definition Working Group. This book closely examines the potential impact that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has on child and adolescent functioning, psychological factors, social factors, and the suffering endured from symptoms. Guidelines are provided on ways ME-CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) can be addressed in primary practice. Topics in Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include: ME/CFS CACFS (Chronic Fatigues Syndrome in Children and Adolescents) the common problem of Munchausen-by-proxy research on the psychosocial, family, and physical functioning comparing children and adolescents with CFS and those without CFS using theory in clinical practice guidelines on how ME/CFS can be addressed in primary practice overview of CFS aspects for healthcare professionals who may be called on to diagnose or treat the illness and more Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is timely, important information for health professionals, researchers, counselors, caregivers, parents of children and adolescents with CFS, and patients with CFS.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as M.E) is an illness characterized by the symptom of chronic and severe fatigue, in the absence of an alternative medical condition. It has been the subject of intense media debate over recent years. Such interest has been partially due to the polarization of professional and scientific opinion concerning the topic - what is it, and what causes it? Chonic Fatigue and its syndromes presents an objective and comprehensive review of the problem ofchronic fatigue, mixing medical, psychological, social, and historical perspectives. It begins by considering the nature of fatigue, and its physical and psychological origins. The book then introduces the subject of CFS, tracing its historical origins, before considering the epidemiology, and the various aetiological theories for modern forms of the condition - viral, immunological, psychologica, psychiatric, and neurological. The book concludes with a clinical section that gives a step by step guide to the assessment and treatment of CFS. Throughout, the authors argue that chronic fatigue and its various syndromes cannot easily be pigeonholed into either physical or psychological categories, and that the ambiguous nature of the illness actually provides us with a valuable chance to explore contemporary attitutes to sickness and health, one not offered by better defined or classified disorders.

This interdisciplinary book explores both the connections and the tensions between sociological, psychological, and biological theories of exhaustion. It examines how the prevalence of exhaustion – both as an individual experience and as a broader socio-cultural phenomenon – is manifest in the epidemic rise of burnout, depression, and chronic fatigue. It provides innovative analyses of the complex interplay between the processes involved in the production of mental health diagnoses, socio-cultural transformations, and subjective illness experiences. Using many of the existing ideologically charged exhaustion theories as case studies, the authors investigate how individual discomfort and wider social dynamics are interrelated. Covering a broad range of topics, this book will appeal to those working in the fields of psychology, sociology, medicine, psychiatry, literature, and history.