Managing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and FibromyalgiaIntroduction
This book is the text for the CFIDS and Fibromyalgia Self-Help course, which began shortly after I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I was inspired to create the class by my prior experience at the Stanford University Medical School. As our program developed, I made use of the strategies and techniques you'll find here and my health improved. The pace was slow but steady, one or two percent a month over a period of four years. From a starting point of about 25% of normal, I eventually recovered to my pre-illness level of health. (You can read my story at http://www.recoveryfromcfs.org/.) The approach you will find in this book is based on several beliefs:
There are no magic pills for CFS or fibromyalgia. Most experts agree with the idea presented by Dr. Lapp in the Foreword that the most powerful treatment for both conditions is lifestyle change, which means changing our habits and how we live our daily lives. This is a gradual process, changing one or two parts of our lives at a time, but over time it can be transforming. One person in our program, remembering my rate of improvement, calls it the 1% solution. We have seen many people in our program improve by 20% to 50%, sometimes even more. (You can read about some of them in the Success Stories section of this site.) In our experience, the keys to improvement are a willingness to adapt and consistent use of the tools of self-management, especially pacing and stress management. Living with CFS and/or fibromyalgia can feel overwhelming at times. An effective response is to take a series of small steps to regain control. I hope you find in this book ideas for creating your 1% solution. Bruce Campbell, Ph.D.
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