I would like to add that I know 'proper exercise' can do more bad than good and is no no I wasn't suggesting that, but research does show that for some doing gentle exercise like yoga or tai chi that uses gentle movement and streches can make an improve, so I did put this in in good faith, but can see how this may have been misunderstand.
I'm sorry you're getting a lot of flack as a new poster here but I can understand how the other posters feel.
I have a science background so don't take this as an attack but please tell me what research shows that yoga or tai chi helps people with ME make an improvement. I'm genuinely curious. A lot of sites/ people say this sort of stuff but they don't back it up with actual studies or with studies involving people with ME/CFS, rather it's about people with "chronic fatigue." The studies that DO involve people with CFS don't often use objective measures of improvement (like how fast or how far that person can walk or exercise afterwards without experiencing their CFS symptoms) but rather rely on only asking people how they feel, which is a subjective and not objective measure. This type of science would not be acceptable for other medical conditions due to issues like the placebo effect and people answering positively due to pressure or wanting to be viewed well by the researchers. As mentioned, do read the other threads people have posted, esp. in the Latest Research section.
And I would second Calathea about how a positive attitude doesn't equal improvement in the illness itself. Personally, I am a generally positive person (pre- and post-CFS) and people who know me well know that about me but those who don't assume if I happen to be happy when I see them that my health MUST be improving. I tell them if I let my health dictate my mood, I'd be down in the dumps all the time but I don't. However, what it does show is they don't realize the effort I and others put daily into maintaining a hopeful attitude DESPITE difficult circumstances.
Finally, for the record, I'd just like to add that I lived a healthier lifestyle than the average American before I came down with this illness. Not bragging here but I don't think I'm the only one on this forum who ate healthy, meditated, exercised regularly, commuted less than 20 minutes a day, etc. beforehand and still went down for the count.
