Who is Simon Wessely?

No, unfortunately holidays are a secondary benefit of being able to work and the chronically ill can't just book a holiday where they can get a break from being ill.

Being able to pay for holidays is also a secondary benefit of work that once again the chronically ill who are unable to work cannot afford - whether in Malta or the UK.

P.S. I hope the people wearing masks in Malta don't make you panic too much and ruin your holiday.

 

Who knows who Simon Wessely is, but perhaps we should look at those who guided and influenced him in his formative years. This appeared at the bottom of his 1987 Hysteria paper.

I wish to thank Professor M. Shepherd, Professor
G. F. M. Russell and Dr R. Dolan for their help and
advice

They seem to be the ones who set him on his way.

 

Good suggestion, chrisb.

Russell specialised in eating disorders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Russell

Shepherd was noted for Olympian detachment towards patients
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Shepherd_(psychiatrist)

Dolan researches how emotion impacts on cognition and its aberrant expression in disease
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mental-health/people/professor-ray-dolan

That 1987 paper set the tone for Wessely's remarkably illustrious career, didn't it?

"Steps must be taken to remove the advantages of the sick-role by the withdrawal of social validation."​

What purports to be a treatment for "mass motor hysteria" became a prescription for pwME.

Apologies if this has been discussed ad nauseam, the thread is a bit long to read from the beginning.

 

Will be interesting to see what COVID19 stats are like for Malta after the summer - it has enjoyed the benefit of being an island so far...
https://covid-19-stats.info/country/Malta

 

hmm I don't think she can be aware of the gov guidelines

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronav...travel-guidance-for-passengers#face-coverings

 

I think we can see where dysfunctional cognitions and maladaptive behaviour might have come from.

 

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I can't find it.

Do people like SW know they're wrong and do what they do anyway or do they believe in their own delusion against all evidence?

In general, not referring to anyone specific:

Knowing/being aware/having a sense of reality or not makes the difference between 1st, 2nd etc. murder & guilty/not guilty of people dying by somebody's actions. Again, in general.

 

From the transcript here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/b...s-about-virus-outbreak-but-residents-carry-on

 

Shows how out-of-touch she really is. Tweets about shopping and travel while everyone else is sheltering at home...

 

don't know if this has been posted
Simon Wessely
CFS Personal Story
CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT

http://www.simonwessely.com/index.php/cfs-personal-story/

 

Nothing to see here, again, it seems.
At least it is clear that SW has been involved - perhaps as one of those whose names were not available to us.

 

By the way, some authors refer to the Chalder Fatigue Scale as the Wessely Fatigue Scale, who was the initial developer. Maybe they preferred Chalder Fatigue Scale as it provides a confusing acronym (CFS).

 

I recommend reading this page on the website. This is how he sees himself. How he and colleagues made a big impact for the disease. Found biological causes (specific viruses) and biological testable abnormalities. He championed the Gulf War Syndrome patients and started research programs. He got out of CFS a long time ago when he started on GWS - around the mid-1990's he states. He's distancing himself.

He doesn't mention false illness beliefs. Or that he was a champion for the DWP to find a way to deny the disease. Or how he helped manipulate the press via the Science Media Center.

This sums it up.

 

Just a note, direct links can be tracked right back here and SW has shown particular interest into such forums before...

 

The gentle art of winning friends and influencing people

http://www.simonwessely.com/Downloa...f winning friends and influencing people.docx