Towards Wellness

Editor's note: This is the first of a planned series of essays and reviews of books on ME/CFS by noted medical authorities in the field.

Dr. Benjamin Natelson, one of the world’s leading experts on ME/CFS details his proven pathway towards wellness in his book, Your Symptoms are Real: What to do when your doctor says Nothing is Wrong.

He starts by recommending that you should be sure to consult a doctor with whom you feel comfortable to assure meaningful two-way communication. That it is essential that they give you enough time to hear what you are telling them.

He adds that you might find useful to consult a female physician. “Studies have shown that many patients find female physicians to be better listeners and explainers, less likely to dismiss your symptoms than a male doctor would.”


Dr. Natelson’s book discusses in detail the four step path towards wellness.

Step 1: Getting beyond depression.
You may not feel depressed, although you may develop feelings of depression as your illness lingers on unabated. At the very least, however, because unexplained symptoms have signs of, and are often labeled, depression it is essential that you understand the problem and how to deal with it should it exist.

Step 2: Removing stress and improving sleep.
Simply stated, stress, like physical exertion, makes ME/CFS symptoms worse. People with medically unexplained fatigue and pain complain bitterly about problems sleeping. A sleep disorder may be an underlying culprit exacerbating, if not causing your symptoms of extreme fatigue.

Step 3: The role of drugs in relieving pain, fatigue and poor sleep.
Dr. Natelson notes in his book “that while most medicines are not curative, they can certainly help the patient by beating back the cause of the disease or by reducing its symptoms”. He goes on to discuss both the time-tested, as well as the most recently developed, drugs and nutriceuticals.

Step 4: The integrative mind-body approach.
Dr. Natelson outlines how you can take control of your body. He discusses certain techniques which act as a major supplement to drugs and other parts of your course of treatment as well as how to conserve energy and engage in “energy building”.

Editor’s Note:"Members of the cfsCommunity are invited to comment. Please submit your comments to the following email link." Editor.

Members comments:

Mary M., Brewster, NY: “My husband, a long term sufferer of CFS, had the good fortune to see Dr. Natelson at his office, within a few weeks of starting Dr. Natelson’s mind-body approach he was feeling better. Not cured, but much improved.”