One common response from a well person to a person with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is: "But you don't LOOK sick!" Yes, it's true. There are many people who
STILL don't "believe in" CFS (also called Chronic Fatigue/Immune Dysfunction Syndrome or CFIDS).

Even though science and medical research have proven beyond a doubt the genetic component of CFS and shown that it is NOT "all in the head" or a psychosomatic disorder, many people nevertheless remain skeptical. After all, this is an illness that has no proven cause, no diagnostic test, no dramatically visible symptoms, and doesn't kill people like cancer does. They just don't believe it is a real illness.

Well, the millions of people like me who have suffered from this mysterious and devastating medical disorder simply don't have that luxury. We have no choice but to "believe in" the reality of an illness that has arrived like a thief in the night and robbed us of our capacity, our vitality, our former personality, and our ability to do the things we need and want to do. A person like me simply has no choice but to "believe in" the monster that grips her in its cruel jaws and won't let go.

There is no absolute known cause of CFS. Recently the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) publicized the facts that ARE known, attempting to educate the public about what has been learned, and to help reduce the stigma caused by doubt. (See the CDC's website at for details.)

Although there is still no known precise cause or diagnostic test for CFS, a genetic connection HAS been identified. Research has found that some people are genetically predisposed to suffer a particular type of cellular damage in the brain and central nervous system when they have experienced severe trauma or relentless serious stress, especially in childhood. This causes changes in the brain itself; changes in the way the body reacts to stress hormones. It also apparently causes changes in immune response, and perhaps a strange kind of susceptibility to certain viruses that cause most people little or no trouble. In the CFS patient, these viruses can remain in the system and may play a role in the chronic symptoms of CFS. In a ground-breaking study, a majority of the participants who had been diagnosed with CFS showed the newly-identified characteristic genetic marker, and many also shared elevated blood levels of antibodies to certain viruses, such as Epstein-Barr, which causes mononucleosis.

My introduction to

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