The Feel-Good Guide to Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Comprehensive Resource for Recovery Book

Description

When they were first documented in the medical literature, fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were thought to be little more than psychosomatic complaints. Sufferers were repeatedly told nothing was medically wrong with them, though they slogged through life chronically exhausted and crippled with pain. But times have changed. Medical professionals now recognize that FMS and CFS are very real and highly individualized medical conditions, which require dedicated and attentive care. Many of the first books about FMS and CFS sought to tell readers with the medical establishment “didn’t want them to know,” but people with FMS and CFS no longer need to be liberated from the “secret stigma” of their condition. Now they need to learn what they can do to start feeling better. This book takes FMS and CFS out of the shadows and explores treatments for each that really work. It begins with an overview of FMS and CFS, offering a simple explanation of what is known about these conditions. Then describes and evaluates most available therapies, both conventional and alternative. The book even addresses emotional problems that can accompany FMS and CFS and offers ways to overcome them. You’ll learn to assess symptoms and customize a treatment approach that meets your own personal symptom profile. Instead of “working against the system,” you’ll be able to use the treatment resources available to them to start feeling better and to stay that way.

Paperback 188 pages.

Published June, 2007.

About the Author:

As a survivor of chronic fatigue syndrome, Lynette Bassman understands that people wrestling with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome don’t want political baloney about how misunderstood and hard to control their condition is. They want to feel good again. Research suggests that between one and 1.5 million Canadians suffer from FMS and CFS, with a female-to-male ratio of six to one. Bassman has written a comprehensive resource with practical advice that readers can use to get better. With this guide, they will learn to build a personalized treatment plan that really works, using any and all treatment resources. The book begins with an overview of FMS and CFS then evaluates most available therapies, both conventional and alternative. It even offers ways to overcome emotional problems that can accompany FMS and CFS. Readers assess their own symptoms and customize a treatment approach that meets their own personal symptom profile. Instead of “working against the system,” readers will be able to use the treatment resources available to start feeling better and to stay that way.

Lynette Bassman, Ph.D., is professor of psychology, specializing in health psychology, at the California School of Professional Psychology of Alliant International University. She is the editor of The Whole Mind: The Definitive Guide to Complementary Treatments for Mind, Mood and Emotions. Bassman is a survivor of chronic fatigue syndrome; she used alternative medicine approaches for her recovery.