Lots of things look like CFS on the surface, including depression. I expect there will turn out to be many distinct physical diseases responsible for what we c

Lots of things look like CFS on the surface, including depression. I expect there will turn out to be many distinct physical diseases responsible for what we call CFS, as well as simply depression. I remember first reading about CFS over a decade ago when most of the information available on the internet was on sufferers' blogs and forums and being struck by the prejudice against mental illness. There were a lot of comments to the effect that, "The doctors said it was all in my head, but then I learned that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a real disease! It totally changed my life knowing that I was sick and not crazy! I don't have to hate myself anymore." A lot of anger was directed at doctors who suggested psychological explanations. Even saying, "We can't find any physical cause, so maybe you should talk to a psychologist as well," (which sounds like a reasonable suggestion to me) was treated as a disrespectful, belittling, arrogant, and sexist. Which I suppose it was in many cases — there's certainly enough prejudice to go around. But for me as someone seeing a therapist for depression it certainly made me look at the people around me differently, having that unguarded glimpse into the revulsion that some people feel.