Why the Psychosomatic View on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is Inconsistent with Current Evidence and Harmful to Patients
2023/12/31 by Manuel Thoma, Laura Froehlich, Daniel B. R. Hattesohl +3 · 1 voice · 26 citations
Health Professions · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Attribution #Chronic fatigue syndrome #Clinical psychology #Disease #Encephalomyelitis #Etiology #Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research #Genetic Neurodegenerative Diseases #Health, psychology, and well-being #Intensive care medicine #Medicine #Multiple sclerosis #Pathology #Psychiatry #Psychology #Psychosomatic medicine #Social psychology
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/medicina60010083
published in Medicina 60(1), 83 (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)
openalex publication_date 2023/12/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Abstract
Since 1969, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has been classified as a neurological disease in the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Although numerous studies over time have uncovered organic abnormalities in patients with ME/CFS, and the majority of researchers to date classify the disease as organic, many physicians still believe that ME/CFS is a psychosomatic illness. In this article, we show how detrimental this belief is to the care and well-being of affected patients and, as a consequence, how important the education of physicians and the public is to stop misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and stigmatization on the grounds of incorrect psychosomatic attributions about the etiology and clinical course of ME/CFS.
Citations
Cited by
- Interdisziplinäres, kollaboratives D-A-CH Konsensus-Statement zur Diagnostik und Behandlung von Myalgischer Enzephalomyelitis/Chronischem Fatigue-Syndrom
- Erfahrungen von ME/CFS-Kranken (Myalgische Enzephalomyelitis/Chronisches Fatigue-Syndrom) mit Arztsuche, Reha- und Klinikaufenthalten, Gutachter:innen sowie Kranken- und Rentenversicherungen
- CBT and graded exercise therapy studies have proven that ME/CFS and long COVID are physical diseases, yet no one is aware of that
- Erkrankte mit ärztlich diagnostizierter Myalgischer Enzephalomyelitis/chronischem Fatigue-Syndrom (ME/CFS-) im Vergleich zu Erkrankten, die vermuten an ME/CFS zu leiden
- “Have you considered that it could be burnout?”—psychologization and stigmatization of self-reported long COVID or post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome
- The Post-Acute COVID-19-Vaccination Syndrome in the Light of Pharmacovigilance. [europepmc]
- I'm Not the Doctor for You: Cognitive Bias, Complex Illness, and a Moral Imperative. [europepmc]
- CBT and graded exercise therapy studies have proven that ME/CFS and long COVID are physical diseases, yet no one is aware of that. [europepmc]
- mTORC1 syndrome (TorS): unifying paradigm for PASC, ME/CFS and PAIS. [europepmc]
- Reframing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): Biological Basis of Disease and Recommendations for Supporting Patients. [europepmc]
- "Have you considered that it could be burnout?"-psychologization and stigmatization of self-reported long COVID or post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome. [europepmc]
- Identification of novel reproducible combinatorial genetic risk factors for myalgic encephalomyelitis in the DecodeME patient cohort and commonalities with long COVID. [europepmc]
- Toward a Molecular Reclassification of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Integrating Multi-Omics, Machine Learning, and Precision Medicine. [europepmc]
- [Interdisciplinary, collaborative D-A-CH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) consensus statement concerning the diagnostic and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome]. [europepmc]
Discussions
Related