More about Wikström & Malmquist's NFT business World of Alidia: Vanja Wikström: Framtiden för World of Alidia https://vanjawikstrom.motherhood.se/world-of-alidia/framtiden-for-world-of-alidia/ Vanja Wikströms NFT-projekt World of Alidia sålde livslånga medlemskap – lägger ner efter ett år: ”Jag är själv besviken” https://www.breakit.se/artikel/3738...lagger-ner-efter-ett-ar-jag-ar-sjalv-besviken Bloggbevakning: Brief om Vanja Wikströms ”World of Alidia” https://nyheter24.se/bloggbevakning/2023/08/21/brief-om-vanja-wickstroms-world-of-alidia/
@MittEremltage's latest blog article Om att sälja hopp https://mitteremitage.wordpress.com/2023/08/21/om-att-salja-hopp/ Do click through and read the whole article, here's the Google Translated version. Includes an update on medagboken's attempts to find facts and answers.
https://twitter.com/user/status/1692992401151860944 Here we are with Olav Mella and Ola Saugstad in Oslo! (I have more photos to share but this one was too good to wait for). ——————————————— Where is Dr. Fluge?
One more thing about Vanja Wikström & Niklas Malmquist's business plans. In a reply to medagboken on Instagram, Vanja writes: The brain training programme seems to be a variation on DNRS called I Can Thrive, but he has recommended other similar programs too such as Gupta. Here's a link to some DNRS related posts on Vanja's blog. On 12 September 2022 she wrote that Niklas is starting DNRS. But on 29 November 2022 she wrote that Niklas is feeling much better since starting a low histamine diet, and that he hasn't yet started doing DNRS "for real". Here's a post by Niklas on Instagram on 18 January 2023, saying that he didn't continue to do DNRS because he felt so much better thanks to the low histamine diet. But the improvement he experienced was only temporary. He then started a different DNRS based brain retraining program called "I Can Thrive" which he says has been modified specifically to treat ME. He says the I Can Thrive program aims to convince the body and the consciousness that "you don't need to be ill any longer", and to put the body into a state of calm and relaxation where it can heal (to get out of the fight or flight state that they believe the bodymind has gotten stuck in). He talks about standing on different pieces of paper and doing certain kind of movements (he kind of compares it to learning the choreography of a dance). He mentions placebo as a way to "switch on" the healing process in the body. The I Can Thrive programme apparently costs around 18 000 SEK? (approx 1500 EUR, 1290 GBP) 26 February 2023 Another update by Niklas where he talks about the theory behind the I Can Thrive. He says that reacting strongly in a negative way to symptoms creates more and worse symptoms. He believes that if you have a lot of fears, worry, anxiety, hopelessness, panic and depressive thoughts about your symptoms, these kinds of programs are likey to really help. (Really?? Sounds to me like these programs are blaming very ill individuals for making themselves iller by having negative reactions/feelings/thoughts about their symptoms, and expecting them to suppress and ignore them. How is that helpful?) 4 June 2023: "Of course, I'm not healthy yet, but I feel like I'm heading in the right direction. It will take time and it will be hard. I will have crashes, but I know that every crash takes me one step closer to a full recovery. It just has to happen!" In a recent Instagram post from 4 August 2023 Niklas says that he has started the recovery process, is feeling better and is able to be much more active, but there are ups and downs. In the caption he writes "What I don't think you should listen to is when some doctors say that ME is an incurable disease.", and is his talk he says that "it's a lie". Addressing newly diagnosed pwME, he says don't listen to the doctors, they don't know how to treat this illness, and they tell you that if you exercise you will get worse etc, and listening to the doctors only "stresses your nervous system and harms more than it helps". He emphasizes over and over that there are ways to recover from ME. He encourages them to instead watch YouTube videos by people who have recovered, and follow their advice. And stresses that believing in the possibility of recovery is absolutely fundamental to these programs. Talking about the I Can Thrive method, he says it's very expensive but you get a personal guide that you have one-on-ones with regularly. Talking about overcoming his gluten intolerance, he describes the method as putting yourself in an emotionally charged state and visualizing yourself eating gluten and that it's really good for your body. Two weeks later he was able to eat gluten again, and this made him believe in the method.
En RIKTIG insamling till ME https://woaholder.wordpress.com/2023/08/21/en-riktig-insamling-till-me/ In memory of woa In support of Open Medicine Foundation https://openmedicinefoundation.crowdchange.co/33932
Mammabloggaren i kritikstorm efter skrotat kryptoprojekt https://www.di.se/digital/mammabloggaren-i-kritikstorm-efter-skrotat-kryptoprojekt/ Paywalled. DI is one of Sweden's largest financial newspapers.
I'm really fascinated by the way ME and pwME are being discussed in this context. I've never ever seen ME talked about in this way in Sweden before, and definitely not outside ME forums/groups. Very surprising, in a good way. Some of the comments under the blog post linked above are a great example: About the house. In one of his posts on Instagram, Niklas talked about visualizing himself healthy and happy in their new house on Gotland, and that being a big and important part of his recovery process. He said that "the closer to Gotland he got, the healthier he felt".
Influencerns kritiserade NFT-projekt läggs ner efter bara ett år https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbla...erade-nft-projekt-laggs-ner-efter-bara-ett-ar (Aftonbladet is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries.) SEK 500 is approx 41 Euro or 35 GBP. As already mentioned upthread, the money was allegedly donated to The Swedish Brain Foundation (Hjärnfonden), which doesn't even list ME as an option among the diseases available to earmark your donation for.
Swedish influencer Vanja Wikström and her pwME business partner/fiancé Niklas Malmquist are heavily promoting brain training as part of their business. @MittEremltage explains why this is unethical and problematic. Do click through and read the whole article, here's a Google Translate version (English). Etiskt och vetenskapligt problematiskt https://mitteremitage.wordpress.com/2023/08/24/etiskt-och-vetenskapligt-problematiskt/
he has "started his recovery back to a healthy life". That would be the famous 'process of recovery', a lá PACE?
Vanja Wikström posted a very long "sorry" post on her blog the day before yesterday. No mention of ME. She later updated the post to add a couple of comments on the ME part of the issue. Vanja Wikström: Förlåt https://vanjawikstrom.motherhood.se/world-of-alidia/forlat/ @MittEremltage and medagboken share their thoughts on this: Ett förlåt som ger frågor https://mitteremitage.wordpress.com/2023/08/27/ett-forlat-som-ger-fragor/ Please do click through and read the whole post Google Translate, English ("A Sorry that Raises Questions")
Another excellent and timely post by medagboken, commenting on the often heard argument "It is not possible to do research on brain training"
A series of quite good articles about ME in the popular illustrated weekly magazine Se & Hør. The latest article below links to several others all featuring pwME. All harrowing. A couple of the linked stories unfortunately also include the sort of 'unhelpful beliefs & behaviours' some patients develop when they don't get proper support, e.g. buying unspecified 'essential' medicine from other countries or fundraising for unspecified 'correct treatment' in Poland (the blame for which lies with the health authorities, not the patients) https://www-seoghoer-dk.translate.g..._x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true The health authority's responses are stunning in their stubbornness. Refuse to separate ME from Functional Disorders. Refuse to let go of the CBT/GET paradigm. Refuse to accept NICE's findings because 'they have been criticised' (notably by Danish Functional Fink) https://www-seoghoer-dk.translate.g..._x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true
Well, not really news as the books are from 2019... but Vegard Wyller has apparently written a book series with the books "Healthy" and "Ill" on the body's normal function, pathology of illnesses etc. They are apparently full of realistic patient stories. They are in store at the local bookstore, so with some trepidation I'm interested in if they mention ME/CFS at all..
