“ME’ as a medical entity was later supplanted in the 1980s by psychiatrists such as Simon Wessely, replaced by the label ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’; a fatiguing syndrome of unknown origin that exists, in part, as a result of dysfunctional illness beliefs, as well as social trends and social care systems that reward illness seeking behaviours.” DiscriminationChronic IllnessCfsChronic Fatigue SyndromeMyalgic EncephalomyelitisMe CfsMe Cfs QuotesPsychologizationSimon WesselyWessely School Author:Charlotte Blease
“The description given by a leading gastro-enterologist at the Mayo Clinic [of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome] remains accurate: 'the average doctor will see they are neurotic and he will often be disgusted with them'.” DiscriminationCfsChronic Fatigue SyndromeMe CfsCfs MeMedical NeglectWessely SchoolChronic Fatigue Syndrome Stigma Author:Simon Wessely
“For the last 48 years, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) has been formally classified by the World Health Organisation as a neurological disorder but for the last 29 years a group of UK psychiatrists (known as the Wessely School) have denied it exists other than as an aberrant belief; they insist that it is a mental (behavioural) disorder that can be cured by graded exercise and “cognitive re-structuring”.” CfsChronic Fatigue SyndromeMyalgic EncephalomyelitisMe CfsNeurological DisorderInvisible Illness StigmaSimon WesselyNeurological ProblemsWessely School Author:Margaret Williams
“I take no pleasure in, and set no store by, the suggestion that Professor Wessely effectively hijacked the WHO logo to give credence to his own view of ME as a mental illness. Nevertheless, I am uncomfortable that the professor does not appear to be doing his utmost to clear the air on this issue.” Chronic Fatigue SyndromeMyalgic EncephalomyelitisMe CfsCfs MeSimon WesselyWessely School Author:Frederick R.P. Curzon