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To me emotion exertion often means something a bit different, though it would be hard to communicate quickly in two or three words, so it would always be open to misinterpretation in a short article. The type that I struggle most with is the mix of emotional and social energy needed to engage...

But but but where are most of these gaps in the labour force? Health care, social care, delivery drivers, hospitality, warehouse workers, and in the growing season, agriculture. All involve demanding physical work, in environments where employees tend to be pushed hard for every moment of their...

That's really good news, @josepdelafuente, and should be a huge help. Just having someone on your side is immensely reassuring, even if in the event they don't have to do a great deal. I hope it goes well!

Yes, I think I might wait to hear what a group of trained healthcare professionals says when they're sent to work in a ward of infectious patients without protection because "Pffft, masks don't work anyway".

Really sorry to hear you're having such a rubbish time. There are probably two recoveries, really, your hip and the ME crash. If the hip's doing okay and you're able to keep it mobile—even if you can't do all the exercises—then that's really positive for the longer term. If and when you're able...

Oh, you can get a postdoc fellowship at a prestigious institution by doing diligent science and publishing what you find, instead of over-hyped, under-evidenced flummery. Should someone tell psychology? (Seriously: congratulations, Joshua, and thank you, and good luck.)

This is a really good point. It is interesting to compare how a female GP operating alone, who set out (even if misguidedly) to offer genuine support to ME patients is treated, compared to those in the "right" clubs, who're predominantly male. Investigations into her practice long precede the...

I'd never leave mine plugged in, but I do have the chair with lead brick batteries on a timer if I'm not using it much. Lead batteries can degrade quite quickly if you don't use them; mine get topped up every 14 days if the chair hasn't been used, but that's probably more frequent than is really...

I wonder if another element in the disappearance of the broadly accepted concept of convalescence was the change of culture in hospitals, when it was realised that keeping post-infectious and post-operative people on strict bed rest (as nurses had been trained to do for decades) often wasn't...

No, not at all. I've no knowledge of actual hearings, only of helping someone prepare for one by doing what you're already done. B&W contributors may be able to help you through the tribunal prep and understanding what will happen on the day. I guess it's still possible that the judge and/or...

They probably won't be needing three trials of it for people with PEM—I doubt they'll find anyone daft enough to try it more than once.

What you've been eating, how recently you've eaten, and whether or not you have a UTI can apparently shift the acid balance a little (or so my nurse told me!), so if you're worried it would be worth repeating the test another time. As levels can fluctuate naturally, the doctor might not be too...

My mother told me I should always try to find something positive to say. So, at least the participants will be able to watch something interesting on TV whilst the online self-help program's running on mute.

I second the recommendation of Benefits & Work, both the guides and the forum. If you want to join but are really short of cash, join their free fortnightly email list—which is useful anyway, as it always contains a handful of interesting news summaries and isn't padded out with irrelevant...

Well, the simplest way forward is usually to pay people for the time they spend working on something. When I commissioned artists, they estimated how long a particular commission would take, based on the briefing given and their previous experience of delivering work. Sometimes they'd gain...

One of the requirements perhaps ought to be evidence of significant interaction with colleagues who're working on the clinical side seeing patients. And for any researcher who is working on the clinical side themselves, evidence of interaction with a patient group outside of the confines of...

It would be really interesting to compare two cohorts, one with ME and the other on interferon therapy, in a study comprising carefully-designed physical and cognitive tests. Especially as patients who're due to begin interferon therapy could presumably be tested beforehand to see what changes.

Yes, it surprises me too. I haven't done CBT, but I've cut out of other treatments that weren't making any difference because staying at home did me much more good. (I've now corrected the typo on the original post, too, so it makes a bit more sense!)

Just for badness, I'm going to suggest bringing in a third alternative! Continue the treatment; Be given $10; Receive nothing (but you don't have to leave the house either).

No, I'm not sure either—it does feel a bit as if they've picked out the symptoms they wanted and ignored the ones they didn't. I wonder how many ME patients have even had their CSF pressure measured? It's pretty invasive, and I can't imagine it would be done as part of routine diagnostics for...