News from Scandinavia

Utsikt said:
Response by Reme about how «modern brain research» explains everything:
https://www.forskersonen.no/covid19...-covid-er-verken-psykisk-eller-fysisk/2498915
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Same old garbage, and as is clearly fashionable, summoning "The neuroscience" as an explanation. Based on nothing at all. There is nothing from modern neuroscience that explains any of this. Absolutely empty of any real arguments. As is tradition.
Our goal is not to promote one explanation
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And yet most of the article explicitly frames everything under "predictive processing". Although it's correct that usually it's not one explanation, rather it's literally any explanation that appears to convince some patients of something vague and generic.

But regardless of which particular explanation is chosen in any given moment or context by one person or another, there is one underlying model: the undying belief in "psychosocial" causes, and that is the one explanation they always vaguely fall back to. Just empty bleating that has not budged one single bit from what their predecessors were bleating a century ago.
 
Utsikt said:
I don’t understand how FSI doesn’t understand that anecdotal reports of benefit doesn’t matter with regards to the alleged breaches of the professional and legal standards in the other cases.
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If no one stops them, is it really a breach? Absolutely, but not only will no one stop them, they will be encouraged to do this, and every part of the system will defend and promote it as good.

And this is basically like the old joke about a hero behaving like a deranged drunk, harassing people left and right and being criticized for "not behaving like a hero". Except by definition if a hero behaves like that, it is the behavior of a hero. The problem with circular credibility.
 
Podcast episode by SFAM about functional disorders, in Swedish.

Carl Sjöström om funktionella tillstånd
https://share.transistor.fm/s/a6793d47
Auto-translate said:
What do you know about functional disorders? What help is available in Sweden today for patients suffering from functional symptoms? Charlotta Busch interviews Carl Sjöström, psychiatrist and rehabilitation physician, about functional disorders and how the healthcare system manages - or fails to manage - this large group of patients who often have a long-lasting suffering, often without explanation, which can lead to pronounced difficulties with bodily functions.
How can we better identify and explain functional conditions?
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("SFAM, the Swedish Association of General Practice, is the professional and scientific college of general practitioners (family physicians) in Sweden, a non-profit organisation with about 2000 members. SFAM is affiliated to the Swedish Society of Medicine (Svenska Läkaresällskapet) as well as the Swedish Medical Association (Läkarförbundet). Main areas of interest for SFAM are continuing professional development, training of future GPs, assessment of competence, quality improvement and research in general practice/family medicine.")
 
mango said:
Podcast episode by SFAM about functional disorders, in Swedish.

Carl Sjöström om funktionella tillstånd
https://share.transistor.fm/s/a6793d47


("SFAM, the Swedish Association of General Practice, is the professional and scientific college of general practitioners (family physicians) in Sweden, a non-profit organisation with about 2000 members. SFAM is affiliated to the Swedish Society of Medicine (Svenska Läkaresällskapet) as well as the Swedish Medical Association (Läkarförbundet). Main areas of interest for SFAM are continuing professional development, training of future GPs, assessment of competence, quality improvement and research in general practice/family medicine.")
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:banghead:
:emoji_duck:
 
Vogt (former leader of Recovery Norge) has written an opinion piece about cosmetic surgeries without medical justification. He argues that it’s wrong that private actors can profit on surgeries that carries a risk while the government pays for any negative consequences.
When cosmetic procedures without medical justification go wrong, it's the taxpayers who pay. That has to end.
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It is a problem that doctors as private actors can shirk their professional and financial responsibilities and take unnecessary risks, knowing full well that it is you as a citizen who will have to pick up the bill.

It undermines trust in the healthcare system and in the priorities we set together – and is not sustainable.
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Maybe he could apply the same critical thinking to his other endeavours?
 
Feeling the fear of many: orienting affects in Swedish austerity politics
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sociology/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1411526/full

"This article investigates the emotional consequences of austerity politics targeting services and support for disabled citizens in Sweden, contributing to ongoing debates in disability studies and welfare state governance.

Drawing on theories of crip phenomenology, the study focuses on how austerity policies produce affective responses—particularly fear—among disabled individuals. Based on qualitative interviews, the empirical material was collected from disabled citizens navigating the Swedish welfare system under intensified austerity measures.

The research examines how these citizens experience the impact of policy reforms and the bureaucratic implementation of support reduction.

The results reveal a pervasive sense of fear, disorientation, and existential insecurity, as well as increased instances of bodily harm. These affects are linked to the experience of bureaucratic violence and ableist discourse embedded in the governance of welfare services.

Participants describe how these dynamics constrain their capacity to imagine and pursue viable personal futures. The article argues that austerity-driven policy changes have reshaped not only the material conditions of disabled citizens but also their emotional and social lives. It challenges the notion of ‘Swedish exceptionalism’ by illustrating how bureaucratic violence disrupts disabled individuals’ experience of full citizenship.

These findings offer new insight into the relationship between affect, power, and policy in a contemporary welfare state context."
 
mango said:
Feeling the fear of many: orienting affects in Swedish austerity politics
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  • Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Something about how historical perspective is required to fully appreciate current event.

Imagine how our reality would have been if the pretend philosophers of psycho-babbel had the same level of critical thinking..
 
Speaking of
mango said:
a contemporary welfare state context
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To pass the time, I was watching a pleasant Norwegian dramedy, Pernille, written and performed by Henriette Steenstrup on Netflix. 'Pernille' is a social worker in Oslo, she is the (flawed) hero of the story, dealing with her even more flawed social welfare clients to protect children. I would say the show has quite liberal attitude, as you would expect from something set in Oslo. There's a message of everyone having flaws, and the need for tolerance and compassion.

And then, when her teenage daughter was complaining of being tired and somewhat jokingly said she might have ME, Pernille says something like 'I will chuck you out if you have ME', also in a joking way. My bad memory and English subtitles both mean that I might not have that quite right. There was another mention of ME later, also not good. And, in a later series, when the same daughter is a med student, she starts complaining of a range of symptoms. It turns out she just has 'med student syndrome', where studying illnesses leads to her imagining she is ill.

That first mention seemed really awful, especially in the context of a show about a social worker who works to protect children. It's like casual racism, but about sick people. So, I was just wondering, was there any discussion of it in the media, or within ME/CFS circles? Did anyone contact Henriette to inform her about ME/CFS? Does she have a background in social welfare services?
 
Hutan said:
Speaking of

To pass the time, I was watching a pleasant Norwegian dramedy, Pernille, written and performed by Henriette Steenstrup on Netflix. 'Pernille' is a social worker in Oslo, she is the (flawed) hero of the story, dealing with her even more flawed social welfare clients to protect children. I would say the show has quite liberal attitude, as you would expect from something set in Oslo. There's a message of everyone having flaws, and the need for tolerance and compassion.

And then, when her teenage daughter was complaining of being tired and somewhat jokingly said she might have ME, Pernille says something like 'I will chuck you out if you have ME', also in a joking way. My bad memory and English subtitles both mean that I might not have that quite right. There was another mention of ME later, also not good. And, in a later series, when the same daughter is a med student, she starts complaining of a range of symptoms. It turns out she just has 'med student syndrome', where studying illnesses leads to her imagining she is ill.

That first mention seemed really awful, especially in the context of a show about a social worker who works to protect children. It's like casual racism, but about sick people. So, I was just wondering, was there any discussion of it in the media, or within ME/CFS circles? Did anyone contact Henriette to inform her about ME/CFS? Does she have a background in social welfare services?
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I don’t know if she has any history with talking about ME/CFS, and she’s been in acting/comedy all her life. But those circles are quite small in Norway, so she might have been influenced by another comedian, Harald Eia (pure speculation). He has a long history of obscene comments about ME/CFS, and has connections to the BPS lobby.
 
Hutan said:
Speaking of

To pass the time, I was watching a pleasant Norwegian dramedy, Pernille, written and performed by Henriette Steenstrup on Netflix. 'Pernille' is a social worker in Oslo, she is the (flawed) hero of the story, dealing with her even more flawed social welfare clients to protect children. I would say the show has quite liberal attitude, as you would expect from something set in Oslo. There's a message of everyone having flaws, and the need for tolerance and compassion.

And then, when her teenage daughter was complaining of being tired and somewhat jokingly said she might have ME, Pernille says something like 'I will chuck you out if you have ME', also in a joking way. My bad memory and English subtitles both mean that I might not have that quite right. There was another mention of ME later, also not good. And, in a later series, when the same daughter is a med student, she starts complaining of a range of symptoms. It turns out she just has 'med student syndrome', where studying illnesses leads to her imagining she is ill.

That first mention seemed really awful, especially in the context of a show about a social worker who works to protect children. It's like casual racism, but about sick people. So, I was just wondering, was there any discussion of it in the media, or within ME/CFS circles? Did anyone contact Henriette to inform her about ME/CFS? Does she have a background in social welfare services?
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This is such a wonderful series which I loved, apart from just that one thing. But this is a totally normal way to talk about ME and ME patients in Norway. I don't know if comedians are to blame, as they are just picking up on common prejudice and who are allowed to be mocked which today is everyone on benefits and particularly ME patients. I blame the BPS crowd who claim ME basically is just lack of pulling oneself together. And I do understand how that is making ME patients a group to despise.

The movie "Sick of myself" is also Norwegian.. Starring a doctor and actor Anders Danielsen Lie who has said horrific things about ME on podcasts etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sick_of_Myself_(film)

I agree it's like casual racism, and am so sad that it is some doctors leading the way and setting the bar of common decency and being informed so low.

We do have one comedian though, Bård Tufte Johansen, who has cracked some jokes about ME without minimising the illness. Also another comedian Sigrid Bonde Tusvik who has talked factually about ME. May they be of inspiration to more!
 
The public broadcaster NRK has a long article about severe ME patient Kamilla who is fighting for getting enough care at home. There can be months between when she gets to have her teeth brushed.

You are not supposed to move anyone under 50 years into nursing homes against their will. But not enough resources are allocated to provide sufficient care otherwise, so patients are just abandoned. Kamilla deteriorated when she tried staying in a nursing home, so that's not an option anyway.

NRK Kronisk syke Kamilla er overlatt til seg selv det meste av døgnet: - Et levende mareritt
google translation Chronically ill Kamilla is left to herself most of the day: - A living nightmare

quote:

The 33-year-old is one of many chronically ill young people who want to live at home.

– For me and thousands of others in the same situation, it is simply a matter of having the hope of getting healthier in a safe everyday life at home with personal assistance.

– Rather than being exposed to injuries, trauma and deterioration of health in a healthcare institution, says Kamilla.
 
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A big congratulation to Vilde Seip Frydenlund who won the Holberg "Research in school" price for her research project "But you don't look ill" where she has interviewed ME patients in Norway :thumbup:

The jury said:
The study focuses on chronic fatigue syndrome, often called ME. The research question that is asked is: How do CFS/ME patients experience their encounter with the healthcare system?

The research project addresses an important topic and highlights the voices and experiences of a vulnerable group of people. The student provides a good description of the disease, followed by a presentation of existing literature and theory, and thereby demonstrates great knowledge of the topic. The student points out that diseases such as ME are ranked low in the healthcare system's disease hierarchy, and shows how this has consequences for patients' experiences in encounters with the same healthcare system. The researcher also provides an introduction to the context in which the individual patients find themselves, and thus nuances and makes visible the social hierarchy in health Norway.

By developing and presenting his own concept, "the stigmatization paradox of ME disease", together with the use of three ideal types, the student illustrates the experiences and experiences of ME patients. With this, she makes a concrete and important contribution to the existing literature on this disease, and in this way demonstrates outstanding professional independence.

The problem is answered through interviews with CFS/ME patients. To explain her empirical work, she relies on Foucault's perspectives and theories of stigma, a choice that the jury praises and finds appropriate.

A good description of the chosen method is given, and it is courageous of the researcher to include herself and reflect on her own point of view, while at the same time managing to show how her own experiences are valid for several people with the same disease, without betraying either herself or the informants along the way.

Her position gives her a sensitivity to plan and conduct research with a patient group that is difficult to access precisely because they are ill, and the student is thus able to give a voice to ME patients. This voice is clearly evident in the presentation of the findings from the interview material.

The jury thanks her for important and independent research!
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Google translate from the projects own page at Holbergprisen: https://holbergprisen.no/his-prisvinnere/valler-videregaende-skole/

The error mentioned below has been fixed :)
There's an error on the site so the pdf can't be accessed from it's own page, but it's possible to access it from this presentation of the three finalists: https://holbergprisen.no/his-prisvinnere/drammen-valler-og-alesund-videregaende-skole/
 
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