"ME isn’t just ‘exercise phobia’: it’s a physical illness" Spectator (Tanya Marlow)

[Kyla]

http://blogs.new.spectator.co.uk/2015/11/rod-liddle-knows-nothing-about-me/

Imagine you’re diagnosed with epilepsy: what would you think if you weren’t referred to a specialist but taken to a psychiatrist to treat you for your ‘false illness beliefs’?

This is what happens to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) patients in the UK. They are told to ignore their symptoms, view themselves as healthy, and increase their exercise. The NHS guidelines amalgamate ME and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, assuming symptoms are caused by deconditioning and ‘exercise phobia’. Sufferers are offered Graded Exercise to increase fitness, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to rid them of their ‘false illness beliefs’...

 

[John Mac]

Fantastic article. And she even criticises Rod Liddle's piece. Careful Tanya you don't want to be labelled an
ME terrorist.

 

[Kyla]

Please click through and read the rest.

Let's show them that good articles get as much (or more) traffic as sensational garbage articles

 

[Hutan]

Terrific article. I liked how the PACE trial was succinctly slammed, and the use of links.

What about the claim, by the PACE trial, that Graded Exercise Therapy and CBT can treat ME? This is a trial where you could enter moderately ill, get worse in the trial, and be declared ‘recovered’ at the end. Even the recent follow-up study conceded that, long-term, Graded Exercise and CBT are no better for ME than doing nothing. Investigative journalists and academics alike have dismissed the PACE trial as ‘clinical trial amateurism’.

There are some good comments following the article and the bad ones are dealt with pretty well.

 

[Bob]

This is a very good article. Click though folks.

And retweet, and possibly thank Isabel Hardman, to make sure she feels rewarded for publishing this blog:
https://twitter.com/IsabelHardman/status/665187708378198016

 

[Sea]

This is a very good article. Click though folks.

And retweet, and possibly thank Isabel Hardman, to make sure she feels rewarded for publishing this blog. Show her how pleasant we are:
https://twitter.com/IsabelHardman/status/665187708378198016

What does Isabel Hardman have to do with this article Bob? Where are you finding the information that she is responsible for publishing this piece?

 

[Bob]

What does Isabel Hardman have to do with this article Bob? Where are you finding the information that she is responsible for publishing this piece?

She is assistant editor of the Spectator and editor of the Coffee House section of the magazine in which this blog was published. So I'm assuming she made the decision to publish or played a central role in its publication. But even if she didn't, she still tweeted it, which is helpful.

 

[worldbackwards]

Great stuff. I was wondering before if it was worth debating anything with a scumbag like Liddle, but this really wipes the floor with him.

 

[SOC]

Great article and amazing comments! Kudos to the commentors who calmly and intelligently dealt with the trolls. It's hard to see us as the hostile militants here.

 

[Bob]

When I spoke to Isabel Harman after her own article was published, she came across as very sympathetic and wanting to help the patient community, so although I'm quite surprised that she published this article, the decision to publish does fit with the discussion that I had with her. She said that she genuinely wanted to help. I think she got the balance of her own article wrong probably because she was buried under a mountain of spin, misinformation and manipulation.

 

[Sasha]

It's possible to flag comments for moderation - you hover your mouse over the comment and a tiny flat appears top right.

A troll comment that I flagged earlier has been removed and I've flagged more.

 

[Aurator]

It's possible to flag comments for moderation - you hover your mouse over the comment and a tiny flat appears top right.

A troll comment that I flagged earlier has been removed and I've flagged more.

The chief culprit appears to be a Mr B J Mann of Nottingham, who is believed to be a retired solicitor, and is a prolific letter writer to his local newspaper, who have apparently stopped publishing his correspondence now. This is what others said about him on a cycling forum:
"BJMann is the chap who trolls the stories about dead cyclists on the [Nottingham] Standard website. The last time was the story of the child on a bike killed in East Ham, bjmann popped up to make a random and insanely inappropriate remark about cyclists on pavements. He's ben around for years, he's banned from Honest John's forum and a few other places for being a ranting nutjob."