Book Description

HELP ME! What I Wish Families Knew About ME/CFS, subtitled, MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS (ME) Also Known As: CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME by Rebecca Susan Culbertson, MSW/LISW. Foreword by Dr. Cherla Meisterman, PhD, LISW. HELP ME! This book pleads for families, partners and friends to educate themselves about this horrific illness that literally rips families apart. Divorce rates are over 75% for couples when a spouse has been diagnosed with ME/CFS. A frightening statistic. This book is written for those who have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Fibromyalgia, or any other chronic debilitating disease. It is written for those who are in limbo, suffering still without a diagnosis, and this book is also written to educate families and friends of persons with ME/CFS. This book will help you learn how to maintain your dignity while dealing with doctors who doubt your illness. You will discover self reporting charts later in this book for use with family, physicians, employers and others. It is difficult to maintain your self confidence if persons in your life do not understand the current state of your functioning. It is of vital importance to educate those around you, when you are able. This book can be a tool to that end. The book provides information about when and how to apply for disability insurance you certainly deserve. Are you watching your former financial security implode right before your eyes? Learn how to deal with creditors and how to manage financial debt with less stress. The book will teach you techniques that the author has used in her Family Therapy Practice with patients in living lives of positivity, seeking happiness, and practicing humility. Learn methods of living with ME/CFS while still setting life goals to realistically achieve your dreams. And importantly, the book is written from the viewpoint of having been diagnosed with ME/CFS herself, and then filtered through her professional perspective as a psychotherapist. Michael McVicker a Prevention Specialist and Family Therapist, concludes this book, (in Chapter 26) with THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A PERSONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM. Michael uses true life storytelling mixed with humor to inform families from his section titled, A VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE. He tells his story from watching (at times helplessly) and supporting his spouse, the author of this book, through the misery this illness brings. He also writes through the lens of being a stepfather to their two teenage sons, and watching their ascent into adulthood. He deals with topics not currently addressed in other ME/CFS literature currently available, including sex and intimacy. Divorce is seldom the most ecological solution to this real life crisis. Divorce only exacerbates the familial problems. Dr. Cherla Meisterman, PhD, LISW, (Dr. Cherla's Musings, Chapter 18) offers methods of treating patients with ME/CFS, and attempts to invite other professional therapists to join her in treating this very needy population. With divorce rates so high, questions arise about why more ME/CFS patients do not seek psychotherapy treatment. To me, as a ME/CFS sufferer, it is very clear. Treatment is financially prohibitive, and more importantly persons with this diagnosis have been told verbally and nonverbally, over and over "it's all in your head". So why would any ME/CFS patient want to go to psychotherapy? ("Why go and prove the wrong headed physicians correct - "it's all in my head"?) If the patient is supported by his or her partner, and if the patient feels believed that their illness is real, then psychotherapy may become an option that could potentially save relationships and lower divorce rates. Dr. Cherla addresses how to go about selecting the best therapist for you, and things to consider prior to making that phone call. There are worksheets included for your written expression, and for use with physicians, family members, and others.