whodathunkit
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I don't see it as much of a "blaming" situation as it is just looking for some of the other causes that could be bound up with this. I have been an almost impossible perfectionist my whole life (and usually falling far short of my self-imposed standards), and find it quite mentally exhausting while at the same time it's a trait I've been pretty proud of. Not taking a half-assed approach towards life's tasks (until sadly forced by physical circumstances, anyway) is IMO entirely admirable. However, I'm also pretty open to the idea that perfectionism and perhaps an excessive concern with detail could have helped "pre-exhaust" me before I got truly deep into my worst symptoms. IMO it doesn't make my physical symptoms my fault, regardless, for the simple fact that many people with the same personality traits that live the same kind of lifestyle I did don't wind with the same problems I've had. Something else that is out of my control is obviously at work.I do notice some perfectionist traits in myself, but these first appeared a few years before the illness. Blaming the illness of perfectionism is the fallacy of confounding correlation with causation. I have wondered whether "perfectionism", that is being preoccupied with doing things well, isn't the result of the person finding it increasingly difficult to do things as well as they were able to before.
Also, I don't quite see how the leap can be made that assigning a common personality trait to people suffering from ME/CFS implies that people can and should "cure" themselves simply by changing the way they act or think. Even if some idiots do think that (does Myhill, really?), who cares? They're WRONG. It's helfpul to take a look at and maybe try to change counter-productive behaviors, just because the less stress you have the better your physical body functions, regardless of whether or not you're sick, but anyone who actually believes changing behavior can affect a cure for ME/CFS should NOT be taken seriously and is therefore not worth any more thought. My take on blame is that the word typically implies an assignment by the blamer as well as an acceptance by the blamee. But it's really hard for someone to blame you for something when you truly don't give a flying crap what they think.
But while we're at it, I hafta wonder why assigning a non-physical trait like above average intelligence to ME/CFS sufferers is pretty much something that everyone likes to hear (I've read about that a time or two on PR), but when it's something like perfectionism or some other trait that might be perceived as negative, there's a pretty much universal disavowal and it turns out that such speculation is victim blaming.
I'm just thinking out loud here. I'm sure some will be offended by this, but that's not my intent. Really. It just seems a double-standard I've noticed before and I'm pointing it out just for purposes of discussion. I know there is actually quite a lot of patient blaming in the medical profession, and that ME/CFS people seem to get an unduly large share of it.
This was me. My own doctor had me tagged as a "non-responder" (which I found a little bit demeaning and discouraging, but I blew it off b/c she's a great doc who really does want to help people) until I lighted here and began experimenting with Freddd's protocol. She was truly surprised at my progress last year when I presented her with my experience. Then I went to her last week for my annual, and come to find out she's now prescribing injections of methylB12, methylfolate, carnitine, etc.Sometimes it takes years before patients realize what is happening, especially when they have a milder form of ME. As your average doctor won't see the subtle signs (although in hindsight they were usually always present) and explain to you that your health is declining,
After being on PR and learning about the symptoms I think it's quite possible I could have gotten a diagnosis if I'd pursued it. But I didn't discuss all the symptoms I had with my doc because I just thought they were part of the general decline and I was cursed to be one of those people who ultimately didn't age well. I didn't even know some of the symptoms I had were actually quantifiable problems with names (like severe PEM).
Anyway, my personal feeling is that perhaps the genetics that predispose people with ME/CFS (or a preponderance of those symptoms) to higher intelligence and MAYBE a bit of perfectionism or some other common personality trait, etc., also have something to do with physiology and whether or not the symptoms of the syndrome manifest. But we don't know enough about genes yet to figure out the connections. Then if someone with these genetics gets infected with the wrong virus or parasite (most of which are probably unknown at this time), it's like a triple whammy, and you wind up with a very sick person with a very complex constellation of symptoms with no verifiable cause, that is very difficult to properly address.
I dunno. Again, just thinking out loud.
Thanks, mango! Looking back, I suspect that's what I remember hearing, but didn't know he pulled through. I assumed he'd passed. I must've quit looking for new stuff from him because of that. Good to know he's still kicking, and apparently much healthier!it's true that ken wilber flatlined and was very nearly dead at one point in 2006 due to ME, but he didn't stay dead
That's actually a pretty good endorsement, IMO.I have not accessed the material but looking at the webpage I am afraid any lab that sponsors this sort of thing is likely to sink further in my estimation. I find it difficult to see how a lab can maintain credibility as a reliable diagnostic service and at the same time sponsor stuff like this.
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