Mind
or Body? A Treatment for ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
by Jenny Lynn of Open Mind Therapy
Psychotherapist
and Hypnotherapist pulls together research from Psychoneuroimmunology
to make sense of the condition ME or now Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Her
Grand (Re-)Unification Theory of the 21st century looks at how mind and
body are one and that the split of the two has caused, even, the very
diseases it aims to treat, stigmatising and isolating people with clinical
and symptom led diagnoses that do not reference the personality of the
sufferer.
ME,
or to give it its' full name, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, has earned itself,
over recent medical history, the unenviable status in the popular imagination
as a condition that is 'all in the mind'. Symptoms can vary anything from
mild fatigue to, fuzzy thinking, aching limbs, dizziness among others,
and, in some cases, an inability to carry one's own weight. Sufferers
are often sent on a long journey from the GP to haematology for blood
tests to psychiatry, Cognitive Behavioural Therapists, NHS nutritionists,
and when all that fails, to alternatives such as reflexology, alternative
nutritional specialists, kinesiologists and so on. And still there are
no guarantees of successful treatment.
General lack of knowledge about the nature of ME and why certain people
are affected with it means that most GPs have to exclude all other possibilities
before they can accurately diagnose ME. And in many cases, where GPs themselves
do not believe in the condition, it can be left undiagnosed for many years.
Sufferers will turn up to the surgery when symptoms get bad and often
be prescribed anti depressants, though they are not suffering from primary
depression. Or perhaps they are prescribed some other psychiatric drug
that might stabilise moods, though mood swings and depression tend to
result precisely because of the undiagnosed ME.
The longer the condition remains undiagnosed and untreated, the more the
personality learns to identify with the disease, and accepts the condition
on a subconscious level as just ‘how things are’ in the life
of the sufferer. The condition can breed a lack of hope, a deep sadness
because of the loss of a lifestyle they formerly enjoyed and a general
belief that they will never recover. And modern medical intervention tends
to confirm that belief as most attempts conventionally to treat this condition
fail.
Having never met sufferers prior to 4 years ago, Lynn was fortunate enough
to be able to treat a number of patients consecutively as local GP's were
brave enough to send their patients to her, clutching at straws in many
instances. As she listened she heard a set of beliefs that were stunningly
similar in all cases, without exception, of sufferers with ME.
Sufferers have lived since childhood in an environment where they measure
their worth by how well they achieve or by what they do, usually for their
primary carers. Sometimes there is an abuse history, but often there is
not. What typifies sufferers is the belief that ‘I am not worth anything
unless I can do things to show others that I am worthy.’ The converse
of that of course is that ‘when I am ill therefore, and can do nothing,
I'm not worth anything’. This feeling of worthlessness puts added
anxiety and pressure on the sufferer as they strive to prove they are
indeed worth something by doing. Then the ME boom-bust cycle kicks in
and sufferers become caught in a psychological trap of using all their
energy to prove they are still effective, and then becoming exhausted
for days or weeks after until the body starts to recover.
Sufferers will demonstrate their belief systems in their words and actions.
Not only does the pressure of measuring up to some arbitrary idea of what
is deemed worthy govern their days, but also the fear that they have no
voice. That if they speak, no one will hear them. It is safer for many
to not speak and to not suffer the rejection of not being heard. This
often comes from a childhood, idyllic or otherwise, where a child needed
to hide or control their own feelings in order not to upset their mother.
It is important to emphasise here, that these beliefs can be deeply buried
and sufferers are often not conscious of them.
This outlook or belief structure causes excessive stress on the organism.
Though unconscious of the extent of the stress because the immune system
is designed to deal with fight/flight responses, eventually it may take
a viral infection or a shock of some sort to overload the immune system
so that it starts to close down and reduce the organism to a state of
exhaustion. It is important to identify that the sufferer is unconscious
of their stress levels because they have lived with their belief systems
for many years. This is where hypnosis, of an analytical rather than suggestion
nature, attempts to bypass the conscious mind and reveal to the sufferer
what their bodies will tell them is an extremely stressful way of looking
at the world.
The world of PNI or psychoneuroimmunology sheds light on the above. It
was proven as long ago as the 50's by Robert Ader that the immune system
itself has a memory. That it will remember without any reference to our
conscious minds. Rats who were made ill on drugged flavoured water and,
once withdrawn, subsequently recovered will become ill again to the same
extent, on undrugged but identically flavoured water. And Hans Selye as
long ago as the 20's identified that an excess production of adrenalin
caused by stress will cause adrenal exhaustion and ultimately, all of
the symptoms we today identify as being Chronic Fatigue. Ellen Sue Stern
in her book, ‘The Indispensable Woman’ and ‘Running on
Empty’, written in the 80's identify symptoms and mind traps of the
indispensable woman that equate to symptoms of ME/CFS.
These are just a few of the pieces of evidence that exist that help to
understand and validate the sufferers' experiences.
But how to recover? Open Mind's approach, developed during the last 4
years, attempts to change not only the mental and emotional beliefs, but
also the physical beliefs stored in the body during a lifetime. Change
never comes easily, but with careful listening, reflecting and with the
use of analytical hypnosis the sufferer slowly but surely starts to regain
control of their symptoms. Open Mind also recognises the value of super
nutrition and supplementation to assist the healing of the immune system.
But the greatest healing of all takes place when sufferers know they have
been understood, have been heard, validated, and have also understood
the underlying causes of their dis-ease.
So is ME really all in the mind? Or is it really in the body? Perhaps
the Grand (Re-) Unification Theory of the 21st Century should be the theory
of mind and body being one and not only being related, but inherently
one and the same. Lynn has called ME a spiritual disease. ‘The word
spiritual does not relate in the least to a religious doctrine, but to
that broad understanding of who we are and where we belong in the world’.
Many sufferers are searching for identity.
Open Mind trains practising psychotherapists and hypnotherapists to treat
ME/CFS. It is time for the mind and body to resume their alliance and
for therapists to earn themselves a first rate reputation for treating
a condition where conventional medical approaches fail. The sooner you
train, the sooner we can join together on Open Mind's register where hypnotherapists
and psychotherapists become the centre for excellence in the treatment
of this condition and perhaps, in a few short years, the first line of
enquiry and not the last resort.
If you would like to train with Jenny Lynn to experience how to develop
this approach Open Mind is running courses in 16th, 17th and 18th February
07 in Manchester, May in the Essex Institute and in October in Bishops
Stortford, Hertfordshire. For further information please look on http://www.openmindtherapy.co.uk
or http://www.essexinstitute.co.uk
under 'bootcamp'.