Snow Leopard
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5 emotions after watching that video:
indignation
disgust
frustration
confusion
contempt
indignation
disgust
frustration
confusion
contempt
Welcome to Phoenix Rising!
Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.
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The only possible motivation for this is their personal profit.
I find this idea of "stress" playing a role in our disease problematic.For instance, while I don't believe stress causes this family of diseases, I do believe, for some, it can be part of the soup that triggered their illness.
there may be a slow lead-up phase prior to the onset of recognisable illness that affects our performance and makes us feel extra tired and overworked in that period. That could later be interpreted as stress precipitating the illness.
This is very much my experience. It is easy to say stress is what caused the illness, but in fact it is our being sick that is causing us to be unable to handle a normal (healthy!) amount of stress. Blame the illness, not the patient.Second, there may be a slow lead-up phase prior to the onset of recognisable illness that affects our performance and makes us feel extra tired and overworked in that period. That could later be interpreted as stress precipitating the illness.
I have long suffered from evil humors.If we said miasma, or evil humors it would not be much different in meaning if the concept of stress is not adequately defined.
So unless you were living on buddhist retreat at the time of your illness, then you were no doubt under some sort of stress.
Not to be argumentative, but note that when stress is mentioned as a possible trigger for susceptible people, the idea quickly gets reduced to simple causation, which is not the same thing at all. And blame is not an interest of mine at all; as I've said, my stress was severe, situational, and unavoidable. While I'm interested in the role it might have played, no part of me blames myself for my psychological reactions to my environmental conditions.This is very much my experience. It is easy to say stress is what caused the illness, but in fact it is our being sick that is causing us to be unable to handle a normal (healthy!) amount of stress.
I do feel like there is a certain overlap in symptoms between ME and PTSD (e.g. being easily startled by things that wouldn't have had that effect prior to the illness). But it's not because it looks partially similar that it is the same illness, or some sort of similar illness state. I'm sure we have overlaps with many well described illnesses too, like say cancer. But no one will ever say ME is the same as cancer, that it's just a different expression of the same thing. It's not cause two 'mysterious' illnesses that we don't understand yet have overlapping symptoms that they are the same thing. I agree that there are many paths to illness. But they ultimately all lead to the same thing: illness.Do you (or others) feel any affinity toward people suffering from PTSD?
Psychological reactions or physiological reactions are the same in my book. They are never your fault. But still we get blamed for both. That needs to stop.While I'm interested in the role it might have played, no part of me blames myself for my psychological reactions to my environmental conditions.
Ironically I am a practicing Buddhist and I was meditating every day before I took ill and yet I still took ill.
Psychological reactions or physiological reactions are the same in my book. They are never your fault. But still we get blamed for both. That needs to stop.
I've seen this sort of rebuttal many times, especially when the topic of stress-as-trigger comes up. But I really don't understand it. Maybe I'm missing something.Even if you did have a lot of stress before your illness started, it doesn't mean that was the cause; I may have bought a new pair of shoes before I took ill but that doesn't mean the shoes made me ill. These people are making some pretty poor logical assumptions!! A leads to B under all circumstances?? Not really!!
I think I understand what you mean. The thing is though, that 'stress' is a very bendable concept. Some researchers say 'stress' when they mean a virus, being exposed to a toxic agent, or some physical trauma like a bad car accident. But the word stress is also a wastebasket word used for 'any life event negative or positive that some weaklings just can't handle'. I think that is the concept of 'stress' that we get annoyed at, because that is where the blame game begins.Something about the notion that stress may play some role in some people really seems to annoy the hell out of a lot of us.
It's contradicted by prospective studies. Basically a lot of people go through stress or trauma, and there's no increased likelihood that they'll develop ME/CFS. If there was a predisposition to a stress trigger, it would still show up in such studies, but it doesn't so it's extremely unlikely that there is one.Something about the notion that stress may play some role in some people really seems to annoy the hell out of a lot of us.
It's contradicted by prospective studies. Basically a lot of people go through stress or trauma, and there's no increased likelihood that they'll develop ME/CFS..
Ironically I am a practicing Buddhist and I was meditating every day before I took ill and yet I still took ill.
I do feel like there is a certain overlap in symptoms between ME and PTSD (e.g. being easily startled by things that wouldn't have had that effect prior to the illness). But it's not because it looks partially similar that it is the same illness, or some sort of similar illness state.
Studies used varying definition of GWI, sometimes including diagnoses of chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome.
From here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4530672/
I think most of us have heard this bogus answer more than once and have felt it for what it is: a way to brush you off...
It is very abusive for someone in a position of authority to try to convince you that you have brought a horrible disease that has wrecked your entire life upon yourself, just because they can't handle not having all the answers.
[Satire] I think psychobabble does it for me. I wonder if Master Galen would think I have an excess of bile or blood or phlegm? Maybe I should be seeing a blood letter, if the diagnosis is excess blood. Or get a transfusion, if I have insufficient blood. Anybody have any pet leaches?I have long suffered from evil humors.
That is painfully ironic, @tinacarroll27.Ironically I am a practicing Buddhist and I was meditating every day before I took ill and yet I still took ill.
Not at all, @Techs. It would be a boring thread if we all agreed!Not to be argumentative,
I also think its about the way this word is used in the context of our illness. Its used as a segue into psychological accounts. It is used by the psychosocial theorists as an incontrovertible argument for psychological causation - incontrovertible because it cannot be tested and therefore falsified. I am not okay with this.Something about the notion that stress may play some role in some people really seems to annoy the hell out of a lot of us. I don't quite get it.