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Brian Walitt’s Radical Bias: Disorders of Subjective Perception, ME/CFS as Normal Life Experience?

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
Brian Walitt’s Radical Bias: Disorders of Subjective Perception, ME/CFS as Normal Life Experience?
by Jeannette Burmeister

http://thoughtsaboutme.com/2016/02/...e-perception-mecfs-as-normal-life-experience/

excerpt
Only a few months ago—in September 2015—Dr. Walitt gave an interview at a rheumatology conference about his conference presentation on fibromyalgia: “Tilting at Windmills (a rational approach to fibromyalgia).” Rarely have I seen anything less rational than Dr. Walitt’s interview. You simply must watch it because those nine minutes will make you wonder if you mixed up your thyroid meds with some left-over Quaaludes. There is not even a pretense of scientific thinking. The interview illustrates what NIH has in store for us. Watch it, really let it sink it and then tell me that it doesn’t scare the pants off of you. Share it!
Read more here
 

Invisible Woman

Senior Member
Messages
1,267
OK. I admit I didn't get to complete the end of the text because I was in danger of throwing my laptop on the floor...

The idea that mind itself is able to create these things and that all experiences are psychosomatic experience. Nothing exists without your brain creating those sensations for you.

So fingers crossed Dr Walitt is just a bad nightmare - a figment of my imagination!
 

Cheshire

Senior Member
Messages
1,129
Wikipedia: Tilting at windmills is an English idiom which means attacking imaginary enemies

I am not sure who Dr Walitt is trying to persuade of what but if I thought I had fibromyalgia I doubt I would find his approach persuasive.

His whole speach shows he's not concerned with patients (we can't do anything for you, accept that your life sucks, go and do some yoga and please leave us alone) but on giving a ready to use way of discharging patients without feeling guilty to his colleagues.
His "theory" is messed up and contradictory to a point that makes one seriously question his mental abilities. He uses "concepts" like normality and abnormality in a totally incoherent way, that just serves his purpose. How this guy came to such an important hierachical position is beyond me.
 

Comet

I'm Not Imaginary
Messages
693
His whole speach shows he's not concerned with patients (we can't do anything for you, accept that your life sucks, go and do some yoga and please leave us alone) but on giving a ready to use way of discharging patients without feeling guilty to his colleagues.

Yes, except to me it seems he is saying that we should accept that we think that our lives suck and just move along. Even though we might actually have symptoms from an imagined illness, docs shouldn't bother spending the time trying to unravel our Snuffaluffagus disease.
 

Asa

Senior Member
Messages
179
The Walitt narrative (2012):

Polysymptomatic distress, psychocultural illness, somatization, bodily distress syndrome; psychogenic rheumatism: "'We think they are all crazy,' a distinguished rheumatology division head and professor of medicine told us, reflecting a not uncommon view…”

“Fibromyalgia and 19th Century neurasthenia are often indistinguishable... Fibromyalgia…represents the end point of a continuum of polysymptomatic distress...

Fibromyalgia is closely allied and often indistinguishable from neurasthenia, a disorder of the late 19th and early 20th century that lost favor when it was perceived as being a psychological illness. Fibromyalgia is also associated with psychological illness and socio-demographic disadvantage. However, its status as a “real disease,” rather than a psychocultural illness is buttressed by social forces that include support from official criteria, patient and professional organizations, Pharma [appealing to a “well-dressed middle class”], disability access, and the legal and academic community.”

“'…once neurasthenia was viewed as psychiatric, a principal social function was lost.’” (Wolfe/Wallit quoting Wessely)

“The very strong resemblance of fibromyalgia to neurasthenia is a key observation. Time brings clarity to confusing illnesses of the past, and we now recognize that hysteria, neurasthenia, and railway spine were almost always psychogenic disorders.”

NOTE: Walitt quotes Simon Wessely, Per Fink and Edward Sharp. (Text written with Frederick Wolfe.)

https://web.archive.org/web/20160223031446/https://www.arthritis-research.org/files/Wolfe (2012) Culture, science and the changing nature of fibromyalgia - NRR submission version.pdf
 

snowathlete

Senior Member
Messages
5,374
Location
UK
You have to wonder, if he's so sure that FM is no big deal / just everyday aches and pains etc ... why does he spend so much time talking about it and churning out fifth rate papers about it? Can't he find something more 'important' to work on?
Because he gains from it himself. Same as the others promoting this BS. He gets paid to do "research" into it, to talk at conferences and in publications about it, etc. He's so offensive and unscientific.

1. This guy clearly should not be involved in this NIH study.
2. Neither should the person or persons who appointed him and I hope that's not overlooked.
 

TiredSam

The wise nematode hibernates
Messages
2,677
Location
Germany
You have to wonder, if he's so sure that FM is no big deal / just everyday aches and pains etc ... why does he spend so much time talking about it and churning out fifth rate papers about it?
Spouting psychobabble can be seen as a kind of career malingering. It's a very good way for anyone who doesn't want to work hard to achieve secondary gains in terms of status, ego, and power over the lives of very ill people. Just learn the vocabulary, start spouting and everything's valid, there's a peer group all playing the same game watching your back, and with any luck you can float to the top of the toilet bowl.

Someone should really write a paper on the subject.
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
You have to wonder, if he's so sure that FM is no big deal / just everyday aches and pains etc ... why does he spend so much time talking about it and churning out fifth rate papers about it?
Because it is very hard to falsify the somatising interpretation. Almost infinite room to wiggle and dodge.
 
Messages
3,263
docs shouldn't bother spending the time trying to unravel our Snuffaluffagus disease

snuffy.jpg

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 

Forbin

Senior Member
Messages
966
"The problem is that language is so heavily charged. People are not willing to accept the idea that our emotions affect our sensation. The idea that mind itself is able to create these things and that all experiences are psychosomatic experience. Nothing exists without your brain creating those sensations for you."

I pray thee peace, I will be flesh and blood;
For there was never yet philosopher
That could endure the toothache patiently,

However they have writ the style of gods,
And made a push at chance and sufferance.

Much Ado About Nothing - Act 5, Scene 1
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Carol Head has raised the issue of Walitt with Vicky Whittemore at NIH.

"Dr. Whittemore was very receptive to our strong opposition to Dr. Walitt’s participation in the study, but said that she has no role in the study design or staffing; that rests with Dr. Nath."

"Solve ME/CFS Initiative President Carol Head will continue to raise the concerns over Dr. Walitt when she meets with NIH officials in D.C. on March 8 along with fellow advocate Mary Dimmock."

More at

http://solvecfs.org/NIH-Study
 

wdb

Senior Member
Messages
1,392
Location
London
I'd like to see him try and pull this crap in an ER department.

So I see you are here for a *checks notes* 7 inch knife embedded in the chest, now before we go any further you should understand that it is really just a cultural construct the notions of what objects we should or shouldn't have embedded in our bodies. I need you to try to be more open minded about what can be considered normal, you need to realize it is not the knife itself that is the problem here rather it your experience of the knife and your preconceived ideas that it shouldn't be there is what's really causing you distress...
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
My "subjective perception" is this guy doesn't know what the frak he's talking about but is convinced he channels Truth from some realm inaccessible
to the rest of us, and is quite chuffed with his own solipsistically derived cleverness. Oh and he's probably been smoking a bunch of weed.
 
Messages
3,263
Forbin said:
One of the studies was apparently titled "Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Surrogate Measure of Fibromyalgia Symptoms. http://cfsnova.com/trials/WalittApprovalfMRI.PDF
And the moral of the story: beware of anything labelled a functional neuroimaging study, whether its of FM or ME. Often just a thinly veiled attempt to regraft the old somatisation ideas onto a fashionable new "neuro" framework.