Fibromyalgia: Evidence for Deficits in Positive Psychology Resources. A Case-Control Study from the Al-Ándalus Project, 2021, Arrayás-Grajera et al

Er, how about helping them with pain meds?

 

Argh. One for the 'correlation does not equal causation' bucket. Seriously?

 

Manuel Javier Arrayás-Grajera 1
Inmaculada Tornero-Quiñones 3,4,*,
Blanca Gavilán-Carrera 5
Octavio Luque-Reca 6
Cecilia Peñacoba-Puente 6
Ángela Sierra-Robles 3,4,
Ana Carbonell-Baeza 7,8
Fernando Estévez-López 9

1. Department of Human Motor Skills and Sports Performance, Faculty of Education, University of Seville, 41013 Seville, Spain
2. Physical Activity, Promotion of Values and Education, HUM-954 Research Group, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
3. Department of Integrated Didactics, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Sports Science, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
4. Education, Motor Skills and Investigation Huelva Research (EMOTION), HUM643 Research Group, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
5. PA-HELP “Physical Activity for Health Promotion, CTS-1018” Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, 11519 Cádiz, Spain
6. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Science, Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcorcon, 28922 Madrid, Spain
7. MOVE-IT Research Group and Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, 11519 Cádiz, Spain
8. Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INiBICA) Research Unit, Puerta del Mar University Hospital, 11009 Cádiz, Spain
9. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands

So.., not biased at all.

I hope at least one of the authors will read this thread. This is what I want to say to them:
I, like, I imagine most people with ME/CFS affected to a mild or even moderate level, generally enjoy my day - the meals, my garden, a chat or interaction with someone, finding something out here on the forum... I have hopes about the future. If someone asks me how I am, I will typically reply 'Fine, thanks'. But, if you ask me, in the context of researching ME/CFS, about how I feel or my expectations: I am going to think of how limited my life is; the enormously negative impact the illness has had on me and my son, and indeed my whole family; I am going to think about the times when I have PEM and pain; of how frustrating it is to have things I want to do and not be able to do them; and the many instances of stigma. And I'm going to want you to know about those things, so that you care, and so that you, and everyone who reads your research, are going to be motivated to do something about the disease and to help people like me.

It is so fundamentally wrong for you to take what someone reports about their life in response to your apparent professional interest and cast what they say as inaccurate whining, or suggest that their negative mindset has caused or worsened their physical symptoms. The people who took part in your research used some of their time to help you, and to help others with their illness - the time and effort it took them was their gift to you. You owe it to them to use the information they give you properly, and not let your bias (and perhaps misogeny) take free flight. Understand that your act of showing interest, and asking questions affects how people will report the impact of a disease on their life.

Part of the solution to the bias is to have a disease control, for example people with rheumatoid arthritis. But, even then, people with illnesses that are often classed as MUS are going to have particularly strong reasons to report that they are dissatisfied with their lives, both because of the stigma on top of the impacts directly caused by the disease, and also because the need for society's understanding to be improved is so much greater.

Really, this type of research that seeks to blame the person for their feelings and their disease needs to end.

 

Very well put, Hutan and shak8. I hope the authors read your comments. Along with learning the basic lesson that correlation does not imply causation. I wonder whether it would be worth writing to them.