Recovering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Guide to Self- Empowerment

Describes the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, discusses its connection with the immune system, and tells how to use body awareness, relaxation, breath control, and guided imagery to help cope with the ailment

Living with a debilitating disease, especially one not fully accounted for, medically, is stressful in itself. But Collinge believes that taking the responsibility for one's own healing can go a long way in ameliorating the constellation of symptoms experienced by people stricken with Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS). A psychologist on the staff of the Cancer Support and Education Center in Menlo Park, Calif., Collinge has worked with cancer and AIDS patients and developed his mind/body program soon after the highly publicized outbreak of the syndrome at Incline Village, Nev., in the mid-1980s. He stresses that CFIDS remains a mystery, citing several theories (viruses, life habits, environment, stress, allergens, genetic predisposition) that attempt to explain why an immune system beset by CFIDS can go haywire and respond with strange symptoms, including fatigue not resolved by sleep. Nonetheless, he emphasizes that like other chronic conditions, successful treatment of CFIDS requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing medical evaluation and intervention, psychotherapy and self-help. Although he acknowledges that some people with CFIDS may never be able to return to their former way of life, some of his strategies may prove instrumental for others. Especially helpful are a series of appendices listing current medical treatments and support organizations.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.