News from Austria and Switzerland
- Thread starter MSEsperanza
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Yann04
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
It feels like it gets a slightly sympathetic article every 4 months, not much else seems to happen.
Of course the system is made more complicated because in Switzerland while there is a law at the federal level for disability insurance every canton can kind of implement it the way they like. So for example if you’re rejected it’s not by a national body but by your canton’s body. So usually Switzerland-wide criticism like this article is deferred to like “You should target your canton’s implementation”, and when cantons often have like small populations maybe a couple hundred thousand (some much smaller) it’s hard to get some momentum going.
For example the petition @Chandelier shared above asking for accommodation for pwSevereME in that canton’s disability application process. Well Nidwalden has around 40’000 people, the size of what I consider a town. There must be what like 5 people with severe ME there? It gets harder to organise unless your family is friends with someone in politics (which to be fair is much more common when your canton has pop. 40’000). I still think federal pressure and advocacy can be useful since atleast in theory the federal government is supposed to ensure relative uniformity. Really though the problem is decentralisation has a lot of benefits politically but in this case it decentralises accountability for a systemic issue.
(canton = like the US equivalent of States)
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Chandelier
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Beschreibung-Stiftung | Würdevollleben. Stiftung
Die Stiftung WÜRDEvollLEBEN ist eine gemeinnützige, steuerbefreite Stiftung mit Sitz in Basel. Sie setzt sich für Mensch
würdevollleben.ch
The mecfs.ch newsletter mentions a new society named WürdeVollLeben that supports pwME:
Machine Translation from their website:
The WÜRDEvollLEBEN Foundation is a charitable, tax-exempt foundation based in Basel. It is committed to supporting people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and those suffering from long-lasting Long COVID.
ME/CFS is a severe chronic illness that is often insufficiently recognised.
The Foundation provides financial assistance when necessary costs are not, or are not sufficiently, covered by the individual’s own resources or by public funding providers.
This includes, among other things, medical treatments, therapeutic measures, care assistance, specialised aids and essential living expenses.
The Foundation’s goal is to improve the quality of life and preserve the individual dignity of people with ME/CFS.
It supports those affected in dealing with the challenges of everyday life—directly or indirectly—through financial assistance and other forms of support.
In addition, the Foundation supports projects and measures that strengthen the social participation of people affected and improve their living conditions.
The Foundation welcomes opportunities to contribute to public education and awareness about ME/CFS.
The Foundation pursues exclusively and irrevocably charitable purposes and is exempt from taxation under Swiss tax law.
Donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions.
All funds are used for their designated purposes.
The Foundation has been established for an indefinite period and is subject to Swiss foundation supervision.
Chandelier
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
ME/CFS in der Familie: Die Frau, die ich nie werden wollte
Mein Partner war sportlich, arbeitete, kümmerte sich um unsere Kinder. Dann bekam er eine Diagnose: ME/CFS. Und ich eine neue Rolle. Sie könnte nicht traditioneller sein
Austrian neurologist Michael Stingl on Twitter:
Chandelier
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Neue Frauenambulanz hilft, wenn Ärzte nichts finden | Heute.at
Psychosomatische Frauenambulanz Wien: Neue Anlaufstelle bei unerklärlichen gynäkologischen Beschwerden verbessert Lebensqualität nachhaltig.
New Women’s Outpatient Clinic Helps When Doctors Can’t Find the Cause
A psychosomatic women’s outpatient clinic is designed to help when no physical causes can be identified for gynecological symptoms.
Many women suffer from gynecological symptoms for which, despite numerous examinations, no sufficient organic cause can be found.
Painkillers sometimes provide only short-term relief; the symptoms can severely affect everyday life and may even lead those affected to withdraw socially.
“Even when no sufficient organic cause can be identified, the symptoms are real and cause enormous suffering.
Psychosocial stress, difficult life circumstances, or traumatic experiences can influence or intensify physical symptoms,” explains Lena Maria Röhsler, a specialist in gynecology and obstetrics, psychologist, and psychotherapist in specialist training at Donaustadt Clinic.
…
“At the Psychosomatic Women’s Outpatient Clinic, women are often given space for the first time to address not only their medical history but also personal and psychosocial stresses.
Through conversations and, for example, participation in the chronic pain group, they learn to deal with their pain and the burdens they face in a different way,” explains Gabriela Wardegger-Szivak, a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapeutic medicine at Donaustadt Clinic, who co-directs the new outpatient clinic with Röhsler.
…
“It is a great success for us when patients report that their pain occurs less frequently and is less debilitating, or when patients who have been unable to work for some time are able to return to their jobs,” says Wardegger-Szivak.
Even though improvements may in fact have nothing to do with what the Psychosomatic Women's Outpatient Clinic does, perhaps being due to the passage of time. Or are the result of the women being shamed into reporting less pain, while still experiencing it. Or are the result of a pressing financial need to return to work regardless of symptoms and a resigned realisation that no real help was going to be forthcoming.
Perhaps some women really do experience physical symptoms as a result of personal and psychosocial stresses, I don't know. But, my goodness, it surely must take a particular type of person to proudly say 'I work at the Psychosomatic Women's Clinic'.
Chandelier
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Somehow that reminds me of my LearningAndListening muse.
I miss him dearly.
Come back, wherever you are!
