This book provides a helpful structure and framework for understanding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) and its effects as well as practical exercises to help address some of the symptoms that patients may experience.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS or ME) is a problematic diagnosis which can be interpreted in conflicting ways by doctors, patients and others. Meanings of ME signals a paradigm shift in thinking about the illness by providing fresh perspectives from doctors, clinicians and those who have personal knowledge of CFS/ME.

Lifestyle Balance Program for Less Pain and More Energy If you're struggling with fibromyalgia or CFS, this book can help you. It offers an evidence-based improvement program that can help you achieve a healthy balance between activity, rest, and leisure-a balance that can significantly reduce pain and fatigue and increase your energy. In this book, author Fred Friedberg, a clinical psychologist and a leading researcher in chronic fatigue, first explains how lifestyle impacts the severity and persistence of fibromyalgia and CFS. He then goes on to show how the seven step lifestyle balance program can help you to function and feel better. In step one, you'll learn how to use active relaxation techniques to lessen ongoing stress. Better sleep, anger management, and activity pacing make up steps two, three, and four. Step five focuses on overcoming worry and guilt, and you'll learn how low-effort pleasurable activities can ease pain and fatigue in step six. Finally, in step seven, the importance of finding and maintaining personal support is covered. This effective lifestyle-focused program has brought relief to many others like you who have struggled with these misunderstood illnesses-illnesses that modern medicine cannot cure. You can start on the path to a better quality of life today!

Recent studies suggest that half a million people in the US suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)--a severe and debilitating chronic illness of unknown etiology. Many mental health practitioners are recognizing CFS patients in their practice, although they are not sure how to treat them. This book is written specifically for mental health professionals and offers the latest research, informed clinical observations, and a thorough discussion of assessment methods and therapeutic approaches to this condition. The volume gives an overview of the history, definition, prevalence, and various explanatory models of the illness, and includes an 8-session behavioral treatment plan that provides clinicians with detailed guidance for implementing a coping-oriented CFS group program. The book is intended for CFS clinicians and researchers, health psychologists, and those who explore the mind-body connection through behavioral medicine and psychoneuroimmunology.

This interdisciplinary book explores both the connections and the tensions between sociological, psychological, and biological theories of exhaustion. It examines how the prevalence of exhaustion – both as an individual experience and as a broader socio-cultural phenomenon – is manifest in the epidemic rise of burnout, depression, and chronic fatigue. It provides innovative analyses of the complex interplay between the processes involved in the production of mental health diagnoses, socio-cultural transformations, and subjective illness experiences. Using many of the existing ideologically charged exhaustion theories as case studies, the authors investigate how individual discomfort and wider social dynamics are interrelated. Covering a broad range of topics, this book will appeal to those working in the fields of psychology, sociology, medicine, psychiatry, literature, and history.

An invaluable resource for clinicians and researchers, this readable text covers the full complexity of physical and emotional symptoms that accompany chronic fatigue syndrome. Focusing on the most up-to-date research, the book includes an overview of the biological underpinnings of this condition, highlighting advances in current neurobiological theories; a practical guide to clinical evaluation; and a comprehensive review of both the psychological and biomedical research in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Proceedings of the Second Farber Center International Conference held at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, December 12-13, 1995

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) affects around 250,000 people in the UK, and an estimated one million in the USA. With a characteristic profile of severe exhaustion, flu-like symptoms, and unrefreshing sleep, it has no cure, but often improves with treatment and self-help. This book, by an expert who herself experienced chronic fatigue, presents the latest thinking on the condition, along with tried and tested advice on how to manage it.

Complete Coverage of chronic fatigue syndrome The Handbook of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome provides authoritative coverage of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). A leading group of international contributors present up-to-date information and guidance to improve the understanding, proper identification, and treatment of this debilitating disease. The handbook's comprehensive, multidisciplinary format draws on the medical, as well as mental health-related, aspects of CFS, including: History, diagnosis, and classification Phenomenology Symptomatology Assessment Treatment and intervention Pediatric and community issues Topics covered include complexity of diagnosis, social effects of chronic disorders, and a variety of treatment techniques, including phase-based therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, exercise therapy, and nutritional approaches. An insightful and unique resource, the Handbook of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an enlightening book for all mental health professionals, including psychologists, social workers, and counselors, as well as medical personnel, such as nurses, physicians, and physical-occupational therapists.