BPS attempts at psychologizing Long Covid

Re: cultural illnesses, a bit off topic. I came across this article in the Journal of the Swedish Medical Association (2019), suggesting that gender dysphoria is a cultural illness:

Ökningen av könsdysfori hos unga tarvar eftertanke
https://lakartidningen.se/klinik-oc...en-av-konsdysfori-hos-unga-tarvar-eftertanke/

 

That's actually not off topic at all for a forum about ME. The psychosomatic approach can connect it all for us.
Have you read this blog in the medical newspaper Dagens Medisin from 2018?
Kjønnsdysfori - den nye ME?
google translation Gender dysphoria - the new ME?

Quotes:

A persistent search for imaginary somatic explanations can bring patients into long-term symptoms, as we see with ME. The hypothesis is then that the perception of the disease stands in the way of treating the cause of the symptoms.

Based on my views above, I have long thought that the ME epidemic will eventually culminate and be replaced by another, socially infectious condition. An article in Aftenposten was therefore thought-provoking. Here, Anne Wæhre and Kim Alexander Tønseth at Rikshospitalet claim that Norway has an "explosive increase" in the number of teenagers who are dissatisfied with the gender of their own body. The condition can be called gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

...

There is every reason to take teenagers' experiences and feelings seriously, not least because people with gender dysphoria have an increased incidence of mental illness. The question, however, is whether gender dysphoria is the cause or a consequence of mental illness. The National Institute of Public Health's reports on mental illness and disease give little reason to believe that the incidence is increasing. It is of course conceivable that stronger desires for gender reassignment among young people are only an expression of the fact that the topic is less taboo than before. My hypothesis, however, is that the explanation is social infection. Gender dysphoria "infects" in the same way as railway spine and ME.

 

I hadn't read it, thank you.

By the way, do you by any chance remember who coined the phrase "the ME epidemic"? Did the "ME epidemic" bps narrative start in Norway?

 

I think this was the first time it was used. In an opinion piece by Lightning Process coach Live Landmark from 2017 titled "Norway has an ME epidemic".
https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/i/0R0WM/norge-har-en-me-epidemi-live-landmark

Google translated quote:
The harmful attitude of a mysterious disease without a cure is reinforced by some politicians, doctors and patient associations. The Norwegian Directorate of Health does little to counter this. But they have a responsibility for the public understanding of reality, because it affects patients and relatives, but also therapists. Ideas are known to be contagious.


Look over to our neighboring countries, and ask the question; why has Norway got an ME epidemic? Figures from the National Patient Registers show that Norway has several hundred young people who are diagnosed each year, and more and more are receiving it. According to NRK, we had a fivefold increase in a few years, while Sweden and Denmark apparently stand still. What can we learn from our neighbors?

 

Maybe Sweden and Denmark can learn something from Norway? And I don't mean LP.

The diagnosed cases are not the same thing as the cases that exist.

 

Ironically, it's those bizarre beliefs that are socially contagious. Linking ME and gender dysphoria is really galactic brain level of not understanding either.

And sure, ME will just disappear any day now. Totally. Just like there "used to be" fibromyalgia and chronic Lyme. Those are totally gone. Totally replaced by other things. Sure thing buddy.

 

Thank you so much! Very helpful, I really appreciate it

 

Re: cultural illnesses. Here's a long Swedish article about resignation syndrome ('sleeping beauty' illness, apathetic asylum-seeking children), framing it as a cultural illness. The article takes a close look at what defines cultural illnesses, the history of cultural illnesses, the role of mass media etc. It was published in 2019 and has had quite a lot of influence I believe, has been cited in books etc. ME is briefly mentioned.

Apatiska barn är en kultursjukdom
https://kvartal.se/artiklar/apatiska-barn-ar-en-kultursjukdom/

Google Translate, English

For those of you interested in the scientific evidence of the diagnosis resignation syndrome, there's a post here.

 

The face of evil laid bare.

 

What strikes me about BPS perspectives is that they are indistinguishable from demagoguery in the way these ideas consist of the blatant projection of thinly disguised pejorative stereotypes which are contrived to sympathise with the frustrated imperatives of authorities i.e. demagogic toadying.

These stereotyped perspectives are contrived to encourage decision makers into making the megalomanic mistake of believing the thwarting of their best intentions is a wilfull act of insubordination and to undermine sympathy and justify an emotional response of social aggression against the objectified stereotype. Thereby they seek to undermine accountability and encourage abuse of power.

Empirical science does not generate stereotypes, it generates useful facts.

The stereotypes the BPS gang employ are not based on empiricism at all, nor rationalism, its all about Machiavellian toadying to "The Prince" and jobs for the gang.

 

The toxicity of the BPS psychiatric approach also generates distress and hostility in patients. Which is then cited as evidence that the patients need to be managed by psychiatrists.

They cause psychiatric problems instead of solving them.

Apparently their brand of psychiatry is primarily concerned with controlling and suppressing people at the margin of society so that they do not bother the rest of society too much - under the pretext of "helping" them.

 

Since ME has been appearing since at least 1935 how long do they think it is going to take?

 

A promotion article today in the Norwegian public broadcaster about this resort.

It sounds just as bad as I had feared.

NRK: Ingerid fekk korona. Då ho var tilbake i klasserommet, hugsa ho ikkje namnet på elevane
google translation: Ingerid had corona. When she was back in the classroom, she didn't remember the names of the students

Interestingly there's an article today in a medical newspaper about few post covid-19 patients being referred to rehabilitation. Don't know the reason for this, but perhaps GPs and Long Covid patients are learning that classic rehabilitation might not be the best approach for everyone?

Dagens Medisin: Rehabilitering etter covid-19: Forundret over "pasienttørke"
googel translation: Rehabilitation after covid-19: Surprised at "patient draught"

 

Not sure whether this is a good fit here or not.

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(21)00356-6/fulltext

ORIGINAL ARTICLE|ARTICLES IN PRESS
Post COVID-19 Syndrome (Long Haul Syndrome): Description of a Multidisciplinary Clinic at the Mayo Clinic and Characteristics of the Initial Patient Cohort

• Greg Vanichkachorn, MD, MPH
• Richard Newcomb, MD, MPH
• Clayton T. Cowl, MD, MS
• M. Hassan Murad, MD, MPH
• Laura Breeher, MD, MPH
• Sara Miller, APRN, CNP
• Michael Trenary, PT, DPT
• Daniel Neveau, MA, OTR/L
• Steven Higgins, PT, DPT
• Show less

Published:
May 11, 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.04.024

This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.
Abstract
Objective
To describe characteristics of a series of patients reporting prolonged symptoms after an infection with COVID-19.
Methods
This study describes the multidisciplinary COVID-19 Activity Rehabilitation Program (CARP), established at Mayo Clinic to evaluate and treat post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) patients, and reports the clinical characteristics of the first 100 patients receiving evaluation and management during the timeframe of June 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
Results
The cohort consisted of 100 patients (mean age 45 years, 68% women, BMI 30.2, presenting a mean of 93 days after infection). Common pre-existing conditions were respiratory (23%) and mental health, including depression and/or anxiety (34%.) The majority (75%) had not been hospitalized for COVID-19. Common presenting symptoms ware fatigue (80%), respiratory complaints (59%), and neurologic complaints (59%) followed by subjective cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, and mental health symptoms. More than one-third of the patients (34%) reported difficulties with performing basic activities of daily living. Only 1 in 3 patients had returned to unrestricted work duty at the time of the analysis. For most patients, laboratory and imaging studies were normal or non-diagnostic despite debilitating symptoms. Most patients required physical therapy, occupational therapy, or brain rehabilitation. Face-to-face and virtual care delivery modalities were feasible.
Conclusion
Many of the patients did not experience COVID-19-related symptoms that were severe enough to require hospitalization, were younger than 65 years of age, more likely to be female, and most had no pre-existing comorbidities prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Symptoms including mood disorders, fatigue, and perceived cognitive impairment resulted in severe negative impacts on resumption of functional and occupational activities in patients experiencing prolonged effects.
List of abbreviations:
Post COVID Syndrome (PCS), Positional orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Activities of daily living (ADL), Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), COVID Activity Rehabilitation Clinic (CARP), Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), Polymerase Chain Reaction test (PCR), Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome ME/CFS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

 

Hopefully...they might decide that if the tests don't show anything on patients, who are clearly affected, that this time...it might not be the patients that are at fault.

That it might be the tests they are running, and to maybe do something else.

But...it is the Mayo clinic, so that seems a bit unlikely.

 

From February, so perhaps discussed here before

Evaluating Patients Post COVID-19
RESOURCES AND TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONAL USERS OF THE AMA GUIDES

This is one of the references, but I don't know what part links to it:

 

Mayo is so bad at this. A dual purpose cohort that assumes rehabilitation sets a very significant bias to begin with.

 

Click through for full thread
https://twitter.com/user/status/1393190500253974531


Can any of our Scandinavian members who are on Twitter help this person out?

 

I think information has to come from sources that healthcare care personell trust. ME advocates here are not such a source, and we'd probably just be blamed for being alarmist and CAUSING Long Covid. Thankfully there are good information sources as Long Covid Physio's website and the recent excellent JOSPT-editorial on Long Covid, ME, PEM and rehabilitation. I try to share them widely and also sent them to the editor of a journal for physiotherapists who promised to look into it to see if they could do an article. A good article in Norwegian on these issues from a trusted source for HCP would be splendid to share in order to increase awareness of PEM in Long Covid.