The Lonely, Isolating, and Alienating Implications of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Samir Boulazreg,Ami Rokach

doi:10.3390/healthcare8040413

Samir Boulazreg, Ami Rokach

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040413

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Journal: Healthcare	Publication Date: Oct 20, 2020
Citations: 9	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Western University, York University

Abstract

This article provides a narrative review on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) through a psychosocial lens and examines how this impairment affects its sufferers during adolescence and adulthood, as well as how it impacts family caregivers and healthcare professionals’ mental health. Since there has been a lack of investigation in the literature, the primary psychosocial stressor that this review focuses on is loneliness. As such, and in an attempt to help establish a theoretical framework regarding how loneliness may impact ME/CFS, loneliness is comprehensively reviewed, and its relation to chronic illness is described. We conclude by discussing a variety of coping strategies that may be employed by ME/CFS individuals to address their loneliness. Future directions and ways with which the literature may investigate loneliness and ME/CFS are discussed.

Highlights

This article provides a narrative review on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) through a psychosocial lens and examines how this impairment affects its sufferers during adolescence and adulthood, as well as how it impacts family caregivers and healthcare professionals’ mental health
It first aims to highlight the relevant psychosocial implications of ME/CFS; secondly, an overview of what loneliness is, how it relates to chronic illness, and its stigmatized connotations is presented; thirdly, this paper offers suggestions as to how to cope with loneliness stemming from and enhanced by chronic illness
The presence of chronic pain can have devastating effects on one’s psychosocial functioning. When it comes to chronic pain, some researchers consider the accompanying psychosocial distress to be so severe in magnitude that they advocate for a dual-diagnosis—one that includes a component on pain severity while emphasizing the debilitating function of one’s social environment [25]

Summary

Introduction

This article provides a narrative review on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) through a psychosocial lens and examines how this impairment affects its sufferers during adolescence and adulthood, as well as how it impacts family caregivers and healthcare professionals’ mental health. Abnormality in multiple brain structures that regulate pain has been observed [3], leading recent research studies to theorize that the ME/CFS brain’s homeostatic processes that react to pain are aberrant in nature [1]. This unusual brain activity, viewed plausibly due to a viral infection that impacts the central nervous system [4] such as, for example, glandular fever shortly before a diagnosis [5], has overarching effects that can cause cognitive difficulties, sleep dysfunction, and immune system irregularity, amongst other debilitating outcomes [6]. One example of this was seen in Canada; in 2016, the federal government’s scientific panel rejected a grant application for ME/CFS research, implying that “it was not a disease” [11]

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