3 ms·

Yes, depression as a consequence of losing everything in your life an being bedbound while no one can help you does make sense. However, this is only after CFS

Yes, depression as a consequence of losing everything in your life an being bedbound while no one can help you does make sense. However, this is only after CFS strikes, it is not the cause for CFS. There needs to be a clear distinction that CFS does not have psychological cause and the current research points that way as well.

cpncrunch 9y ago
>However, this is only after CFS strikes, it is not the cause for CFS. In my own case (as with Whitney), the anxiety/depression was definitely not a psychological consequence of having an illness, it was a fundamental part of the illness itself, and would appear with no warning along with the other symptoms (not after them). I can't speak for anyone else, that was just my experience, and it seems to mirror Whitney's illness. (Although mine never became as severe as his). However depression is not a "cause" for CFS (or anything else), it is just another symptom. >There needs to be a clear distinction that CFS does not have psychological cause and the current research points that way as well. I think you have a very simplistic notion of what "psychological" means. Read my parent comment again...
- manmal 9y ago
  Indeed, there are a lot of ways mitochondrial dysfunction could lead to depression on a physical level - thyroid function suppression, HPA axis disorder (leading again to thyroid suppression), various electrolyte imbalances caused by decreased intestinal uptake (eg magnesium deficiency can cause "untreatable" depression), microbiome shifts due to decreased peristalsis leading to decreased serotonin levels...
  - cpncrunch 9y ago
    True, but it seems unlikely that CFS could be caused by the mitochondria or intestinal update suddenly screwing up overnight. A neuropsychiatric disorder caused by chronic stress seems more plausible, with both the fatigue and depression being generated in the brain itself.
    - manmal 9y ago
      Many people describe that their CFS started right after coming down with a virus, so a malfunctioning immune system seems a cofactor. Impaired T cells have been hypothesized..
      - cpncrunch 9y ago
        If you look at the research (e.g. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395696000507 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395696...) most people report a viral infection and stressful events (more people report stress than virus). Bear in mind that infections are physiologically stressful (http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vim.2005.18.41 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vim.2005.18.41) in that they activate the HPA axis in the same way that a psychological stressor does. >a malfunctioning immune system seems a cofactor. Impaired T cells have been hypothesized.. But there has to be a reason for that suddenly happening. And it doesn't explain patients who didn't have a viral infection at onset, or those who don't have ongoing EBV (or other) infections...

cpncrunch 9y ago

>However, this is only after CFS strikes, it is not the cause for CFS. In my own case (as with Whitney), the anxiety/depression was definitely not a psychological consequence of having an illness, it was a fundamental part of the illness itself, and would appear with no warning along with the other symptoms (not after them). I can't speak for anyone else, that was just my experience, and it seems to mirror Whitney's illness. (Although mine never became as severe as his). However depression is not a "cause" for CFS (or anything else), it is just another symptom. >There needs to be a clear distinction that CFS does not have psychological cause and the current research points that way as well. I think you have a very simplistic notion of what "psychological" means. Read my parent comment again...

manmal 9y ago
Indeed, there are a lot of ways mitochondrial dysfunction could lead to depression on a physical level - thyroid function suppression, HPA axis disorder (leading again to thyroid suppression), various electrolyte imbalances caused by decreased intestinal uptake (eg magnesium deficiency can cause "untreatable" depression), microbiome shifts due to decreased peristalsis leading to decreased serotonin levels...
- cpncrunch 9y ago
  True, but it seems unlikely that CFS could be caused by the mitochondria or intestinal update suddenly screwing up overnight. A neuropsychiatric disorder caused by chronic stress seems more plausible, with both the fatigue and depression being generated in the brain itself.
  - manmal 9y ago
    Many people describe that their CFS started right after coming down with a virus, so a malfunctioning immune system seems a cofactor. Impaired T cells have been hypothesized..
    - cpncrunch 9y ago
      If you look at the research (e.g. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395696000507 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395696...) most people report a viral infection and stressful events (more people report stress than virus). Bear in mind that infections are physiologically stressful (http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vim.2005.18.41 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vim.2005.18.41) in that they activate the HPA axis in the same way that a psychological stressor does. >a malfunctioning immune system seems a cofactor. Impaired T cells have been hypothesized.. But there has to be a reason for that suddenly happening. And it doesn't explain patients who didn't have a viral infection at onset, or those who don't have ongoing EBV (or other) infections...