And perhaps it's the result of alien abduction
Creating a vague explanation to support a pet hypothesis seems rather pointless. Especially when the pet hypothesis has been pretty well disproven, and alternative illness models are strongly supported by a large body of medical research.
Seriously, what's the fascination with trying to equate ME/SEID with depression? They have no similarities. None. Unless you believe mild "fatigue" is the core symptom of ME/SEID.
Valentijn
I agree with a the basic premise that CFS/ME is not depression It is wrong and dangerous to equate ME and CFS with depression and it is stupid as the patients are not complaining of depression. That said, so many conditions can have sth in common on one level and be quite different on another and individuals will be different. None of this is unique to CFS and overlap between depression and CFS is a legitimate topic. If there were no overlap there would be no confusion in diagnosis, so better elucidate it imo..
Simply put no intention to patronise), because the brain is an organic part of the neuroimmune system but is majorly involved in conditions of the mind, it would not be surprising if some of us develop mental symptoms as part of our neuroimmune illness. Parkinson's is not depression but PD patients do get depressed and their depression is closely related to their organic illness, not just reactive. Can you say this is never the case in ME/CFS people? This does not imply any equation of ME/CFS or PD with depression..
Three areas of brain inflammation were found in the Japanese research - some more depressed, some more pain (FM type) some more fatigue - all CFS by Japanese standards, could even be from one cause, but still different areas of inflammation and some different symptoms incl depression..
Some report stress prior to illness. Perhaps they developed a neuroimmune problem resulting in CFS/ME whereas someone with a different genetic makeup might have developed depression. Some recall only infection. Some have no idea, some were bitten by a tick. Some have deficiencies. Any of these can cause both bodily and mental symptoms. we can be so different on on level and very similar on another. We can differ, as I have done over the years.
There is also patient experience.
We have messed up nervous systems, messed up neuroendocrine systems, messed up lives, messed up immune systems and are symptomatically diagnosed. In these regards we overlap with many endogenously depressed patients. Many of the areas affected in depression are affected in us - but differently. A lot of us have experience of reactive depression too, and immune activity can cause endogenous depression both in ME/CFS and in non CFS/ME. Many are very stressed as a result of illness, and in illnesses such as Parkinson's stress will make neuro symptoms worse.
We are probably not a single group anyway, but we do not divide along e.g. VO2 max PEM vs. depression or low cortisol vs depression either. That is far too simplistic and should be understood by our friends in the medical community.. With such variety some of us are going to consider the role of depression in our condition - whether it is "just" reactive or an immune mediated part of the illness - , which fortunately many are spared. This is also clinically essential so that any psychologising doctors who consider us to have depression rather than CFS/ME understand that we can differentiate between symptoms , that we are not Cartesian dualists, that we do not despise the mentally ill , that we are not benighted by llittle knowledge/understanding,and that we probably know more about alternative tryptophan pathways in infection than they ever will!!!!!!!! But then, you tell some of them all this and they just conclude "it's not depression, it's obsession". Sometimes we can't win, which is why you naturally baulk at psychiatric talk.........