Anyone tried Bruce Campbell's course?

[Ocean]

I was considering trying this online lifestyle management course http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/online-courses/introductory-self-help-course
I have a few reservations and wondered if anyone has experience with it.

One of my concerns in privacy. If a lot of sharing is done online with fellow "classmates" is there the potential for loss of privacy, especially if people sign up with real names.

Another concern is: is doing the course much more helpful than just following the tips and worksheets on the site provided for free?

I appreciate any experiences or thoughts people can share. For anyone else who might be interested, the next course starts in January.

 

[health_seeker]

Hi Ocean:

I don't have experience with any of Bruce Camble's courses so this is just my personal opinion. But I was interested in the link you posted and so took a look at the course outline and the library of articles. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't get the impression that there would be a lot of hard information in the course that you wouldn't either get from being on this forum or reading the library articles. I mean there is only so much you can say about coping strategies and pacing yourself that hasn't already been said elsewhere. So I think the question I'd be asking is what do you want to get out of something like this. A lot of people signing up for this course might want a structured email environment for meeting others with CFS and be willing to pay a little something for it. But it sounds like you're primarily interested in doing the course for what you could learn. I doubt you need to worry about course participants having to give their real names as on all email listserves I've ever been on, people interact with each other using anonymous handles.

 

[Ocean]

Thanks Healthseeker,

No I'm not looking for info, more what you said about having a structured way to make a lifestyle management plan. I guess even without names I worry about providing a lot of identifying personal info, just wondering what exactly is shared among fellow coursemates. Thanks so much for checking out the link and your thoughts! I have only heard of the course mentioned on here once so maybe not many people here have taken it.

 

[SOC]

I was considering trying this online lifestyle management course http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/online-courses/introductory-self-help-course
I have a few reservations and wondered if anyone has experience with it.

One of my concerns in privacy. If a lot of sharing is done online with fellow "classmates" is there the potential for loss of privacy, especially if people sign up with real names.

Another concern is: is doing the course much more helpful than just following the tips and worksheets on the site provided for free?

I appreciate any experiences or thoughts people can share. For anyone else who might be interested, the next course starts in January.

Yes, I did this course on the recommendation of Dr Lapp. While it is a good course, I have to say they I didn't learn anything from it. I was already doing everything they were teaching -- pacing, relaxation, and generally coping with this illness. So I got no improvement from it whatsoever.

My feeling is that the course would do a lot of good for people who are new to the illness, or have not learned to pace, have not yet learned a certain degree of acceptance, or are having minor psychological reactions because they haven't yet learned to cope.

If you are an experienced PWME and are already pacing and psychologically coping, I suspect it won't be much help to you, unless you get some satisfaction from helping others learn to cope. It reminded me a lot of group therapy. If that appeals, it might be worth doing.

I don't remember having a problem with any issues of privacy, but it's been a while since I took the course....

 

[Ocean]

Yes, I did this course on the recommendation of Dr Lapp. While it is a good course, I have to say they I didn't learn anything from it. I was already doing everything they were teaching -- pacing, relaxation, and generally coping with this illness. So I got no improvement from it whatsoever.

My feeling is that the course would do a lot of good for people who are new to the illness, or have not learned to pace, have not yet learned a certain degree of acceptance, or are having minor psychological reactions because they haven't yet learned to cope.

If you are an experienced PWME and are already pacing and psychologically coping, I suspect it won't be much help to you, unless you get some satisfaction from helping others learn to cope. It reminded me a lot of group therapy. If that appeals, it might be worth doing.

I don't remember having a problem with any issues of privacy, but it's been a while since I took the course....

Thank you so much SOC. This is really helpful. I don't think I will be doing the course. Thank you!

ETA: Maybe I could use help with pacing. I'm really not sure. Still it seems like whatever the course provides, the free course and materials on their site would probably offer the same things, as far as what I'm looking for. I guess I wanted motivation to work on lifestyle management (pacing and addressing other illnesses that impact my CFS) and thought the structure of a course as well a maybe feedback about my strategies might be helpful. I definitely do not want group therapy! (I have this site for my therapy)

 

[SOC]

TI guess I wanted motivation to work on lifestyle management (pacing and addressing other illnesses that impact my CFS) and thought the structure of a course as well a maybe feedback about my strategies might be helpful.

As I recall, the leader asked us to set various goals and then report in on our progress. The idea is that reporting to the group provided some motivation to achieve your goals. I'm very self-motivated, so that didn't work for me, but I can see how it might be helpful if you're looking for motivation.

I definitely do not want group therapy! (I have this site for my therapy)

Yes, I find PR to be much better in that regard.

 

[Ocean]

Thank you SOC. I think maybe the structure would help me. I have read some of the material on their site and it has helped but I rarely go over there. I thought maybe by having an interactive and structured place to go, I'd actually visit there more and focus on the pacing issues and such in a more structured focused way. I come here a lot because it's interactive, easy to check in, and fairly easy for me to write short messages when I'm not well enough to do anything else. I just wonder if having some of that on their site might lead me to go there regularly, read more about pacing and lifestyle management and apply it more to my life than I currently have been. Then again maybe there isn't much more I can be doing now anyway. Based on your input and my own gut feeling I have a feeling I won't be doing the course this January, but I'm not totally ruling it out yet. Thank you so much for sharing, knowing your direct experience helps a lot.

ETA: I should add it's not so much motivation as focus that I'm lacking. With severe mind fog, nocturnal sleeping patterns, a chronic severe pain condition, and mostly housebound state form CFS, focusing on an actual care plan for myself has been nearly impossible. I feel most days I'm just mumbling through trying to get through the day and get maybe one or two time sensitive things done if I can. I have some health care goals in the back of my mind but rarely get to them. It's hard to tell if it's a function of being too sick to be able to meet the goals, or if some of it could be helped by finding a way to focus better and be more structured and have a more defined plan, if that makes any sense.

 

[Boule de feu]

I would recommend this!

This is one thing I don't regret doing. I thought the first course was very well presented (the booklet is worth reading if you don't take the course) and I thought the individual help (Bruce was my coach) really made a difference in my case. By the time I had registered, I knew quite a lot about ME and I had just completed 20 + sessions with a health psychologist (we had gone through many of the pacing strategies). Bruce's course reinforced what I knew already. Not a waste of time at all, to the contrary. I decided to keep going (I accepted to play the guinea pig when Bruce started the second course - I enjoyed this one even more) and I am now taking part in the alumni group discussions (not mandatory).

Bruce will ask you to evaluate where you are at and decide with you what is the best strategy so you get a lot from the course. I liked the fact that we had to evaluate ourselves on a scale first, and we re-did the same at the end to see if we had improved somewhat. Each step is well thought. You get instant feedback and can ask a lot of questions. You can work on what YOU, as an individual, need to work on to get a better quality of life. I worked on pre-emptive rests and making supper for my family (it was my only goal at the time).

If you are worried about giving out your real name, I would ask Bruce how you can do the course without disclosing this info. Keep in mind that you don't have to give any info if you don't want to. You can keep it more general. You can also quit if you feel uncomfortable about this.

The problem with trying to do this ourselves is that we are not motivated enough to keep going. This type of course gives us the "push" we need to keep going. I would like to take this course again, now that I am doing better. I'm sure I could improve even more and get to a higher level.

I would order the booklet first and see if you can get something out of it.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Ocean]

Thank you so much Boule de feu. Maybe I sound completely flaky since I was leaning against it earlier but I am again considering trying it. Your recommendation helps. And after writing and responding here earlier I thought back to just some tips I read on that site that actually have continued to help me with my self care and figured if just skimming through some tips can continue to help me in a way not much else has, then maybe the course could have even more of a payoff. I don't think it's very expensive so I don't think there is too much to lose if I end up not liking it. It's a good idea to ask about using a psuedonym (spelling?) if people usually use real names, as your post seems to suggest. I'm so glad to hear this helped you and you're still involved in it and I will definitely be thinking about doing this, starting with sending them an email about the privacy issue. Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated!

 

[Boule de feu]

You are quite welcome!
However, keep in mind that what works for one does not always work for another.
It has been the truth for everything that comes close to CFS!
And... Don't hold me responsible if it does not turn out okay for you. LOL. Just kidding !
I would love to hear how it turns out if you chose to do this.
Good luck!

 

[Valentijn]

It sounds like it just uses email, and not a forum type situation. In which case you could create a fake email just for the class that doesn't give any hints as to your identity. But then you have to remember to check it

 

[bluesky]

Hi Ocean,

You can order the book and the audio CDs from the store to be delivered to the UK, it's not that much at all and I've found them really useful. I used them a lot when I first got ill, and still refer back to them now (2 years down the line).

I don't use all the forms and eveything because I don't want to spend all my time focusing on symptoms and how rubbish I feel, but the strategies were very good and showed me very clearly that I was trying to do waaay too much. I've managed to (usually) pace myself so that I don't tend to relapse as much now from overdoing it, but it did depress me at first to work out that my "baseline" was so limited. However, I've come to an acceptance of that now, and while I can't do much, I'm grateful for what I can do.

Good luck with this, I hope you find it useful.

 

[Ocean]

Thanks Bluesky. Did you ever find that you were able to increase your baseline or energy envelope?

I do pretty well with pacing so if the course focuses mainly on that I'm not sure how much I'll benefit. I'm in the US but I know the book can be sent here also.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sorry your baseline is low though. Mine is too, sadly.

Hi Ocean,

You can order the book and the audio CDs from the store to be delivered to the UK, it's not that much at all and I've found them really useful. I used them a lot when I first got ill, and still refer back to them now (2 years down the line).

I don't use all the forms and eveything because I don't want to spend all my time focusing on symptoms and how rubbish I feel, but the strategies were very good and showed me very clearly that I was trying to do waaay too much. I've managed to (usually) pace myself so that I don't tend to relapse as much now from overdoing it, but it did depress me at first to work out that my "baseline" was so limited. However, I've come to an acceptance of that now, and while I can't do much, I'm grateful for what I can do.

Good luck with this, I hope you find it useful.