I like to start by listening, and believing in the patient
Is there a difference between "believing the patient" and "believing
in the patient"? I expect to be believed. I don't give a toss whether my doctor believes
in me, that's my mother's job.
and reassuring them that they are not going mad
Thanks, but I never thought I was, where did you get that idea from?
Too many people with M.E. have suffered for too long, misunderstood, alone, disbelieved and with little support.
Yes, we know, get on with it.
It appears that for many people with M.E., the SNS has been sensitized and has become stuck, like a broken record, in fight and flight mode, even when supposedly resting or sleeping. Whatever the original trigger, the brain switched to fight and flight to fend off this perceived life-threatening attack - but never switched back. To use a metaphor ...
Oh, there's a metaphor on the way is there? I'll watch out for that, I hadn't noticed any yet.
To use a metaphor, it is as if the foot is hard down on the accelerator pedal in a stationary car, with the gear in neutral;
If that's a metaphor, would you mind telling me what a simile is?
Trying to push through the energy and pain barriers only reinforces the unhealthy fight and flight response
Surely if I'm in a fight and flight response I should be able to fight or take flight, otherwise, what's the point? Whereas with ME the opposite happens, my ability to fight or take flight is vastly diminished. Perhaps we should compare it to something else or find another explanation?
The hope is that with pacing, one can begin to build positive experiences of mobility and activity, no matter how small, which give positive feedback to the central nervous system, reassuring it that all is well, and that it no longer needs to stay on fight and flight. Working from a baseline of activity, within one’s own limits, can help reassure the SNS and allow the restorative and healing PNS to become more active once again.
One of us has completely misunderstood pacing. And I've been doing it for four years like my life depends on it, so I don't think it's me.
The first step in the management of M.E. is establishing true rest (physically, mentally and spiritually)
I just said a very rude word.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of all for people with M.E.!
Why the exclamation mark? Did someone just tell a joke? An attempt at self-deprecation or philosophical whimsey?
This ‘tropical jungle’ metaphor in no way explains all that has gone wrong in M.E., but does give an insight into how small changes in our physiology can cause devastating and widespread symptoms.
It's a simile, and you just made it up, so you can't cite it as a source of insight into physiological changes.
Without a ‘cure’, a ‘whole-person’ approach (body-mind-spirit) is invaluable
Oh please, I expect more from a doctor. Go and be a life coach or something.
