George Monbiot on ME/CFS, PACE, BPS and Long Covid

Good work Tuller bringing this to Monbiot's attention!

And I think it was someone here who first posted that Sharpe criticising Monbiot like that could backfire on him? Good work that person too. I hadn't thought of that.

Looking back, I think that criticising journalists is routinely counter-productive, and that it's much better to praise those whose work is in the right direction. This goes against every instinct I have.

 

Someone needs to take the Swiss Re logo and turn it into a Sharpe & Co Reassurance meme.

 

This might turn into a column in the Guardian

 

I’ve just sent a letter to the Guardian making this point:

 

Um...

 

The 'Guardian pick' of the comments show what needs to be avoided.

Okay, I missed the true star of this story. Time to hide behind the sick role and blame the brain fog?!

 

PACE being OK - Wow --- hasn't she listened to any of the academics who now teach i.e. how not to do research?

 

Standing on the shoulders of giants like @dave30th!

 

A Times journalist retweeting a link to a Guardian article probably doesn't happen that often.

 

Fantastic. You literally couldn't buy that kind of coverage.

Prof. Sharpe may consider himself the "only show" in town but he's certainly provided a lot of interest.

 

Wowza. To think only two years ago, The Times hosted that silly public pity party about Sharpe being forced out of research because a couple of people said mean things about him on Twitter, and now this.

 

I know, all of this must mean that he's been forced out of the country now surely???

 

LOL, if only! (But we have to feel sorry for the ME or LC sufferers in whatever country he lands up in.)

 

I think it was in the responses to that interview that George Monbiot asked why patients wouldn't want research on their illness, and if my memory serves me which it often doesn't now, it was in March 2019. It generated a lot of discussion in the comments and a couple of us responded to George's question. Wow!

 

Yes! It was March 2019. I was one of the ones who responded to George's question! So glad he took up the cause, he seems a really good guy.

 

The poor man, I would hope that his employers decide a fishing trip is due.

I hear that the Sea of Tranquility is free from pwME, reporters, other critics, and other annoyances, like fish.

..quiet and peaceful.

of course those who believe in science may point out that there is very little atmosphere there, but I'm sure that such a renowned expert, who believes that the mind can overrule any pesky 'physical' symptoms won't have any problems.

 

I responded too, posted here somewhere. I remember so clearly because I was in Venice celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary when I read it, and lay on the bed composing my response.
That's one consequence of ME. You may struggle to do a very special thing like visit Venice and then have to spend lots of the time lying down so that you can do very little. It did mean a response to the article though.

 

Some slight nervousness I have about this is that there are so many things about the pandemic and covid-19 infections that could lead to real fear/mental health problems/etc. Just because there's a history of these researchers making misleading or exaggerated claims about the importance of psychosocial factors causing post-viral symptoms in the past doesn't mean that they won't play a greater role this time (or that they played a role in PVFS in the past, but that research has just so far failed to find good evidence for this). I think that seeing how hard it has been to make progress even when we're 100% right makes me want to stay away from any area of uncertainty.

 

Could it be that this apparent publicity push from BPS advocates in relation to ME (possible timed to coincide with the new NICE guidelines) and in relation to ‘Long Covid’ may end up back firing?

(Added - Though obviously the Swiss Re talk is probably just part of Prof Sharpe’s ongoing relationship with the insurance industry. Hopefully publicity like this will lead them to consider more scientifically reliable speakers/advisors in relation to ME and ‘Long Covid’)