01.12.2012 Views

MAGICAL MEDICINE: HOW TO MAKE AN ILLNESS ... - Invest in ME

MAGICAL MEDICINE: HOW TO MAKE AN ILLNESS ... - Invest in ME

MAGICAL MEDICINE: HOW TO MAKE AN ILLNESS ... - Invest in ME

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

344<br />

‘Behaviour Modification’ and ‘Condition<strong>in</strong>g’ and ‘Re‐education and Social Propaganda’ ” (Beverly Eakman: The<br />

New Face of Psychiatry. The New American, 13 th October 2009). One commentator on Eakman’s article<br />

noted: “Learned helplessness is another angle they take, shock<strong>in</strong>g us....repeatedly…until we are psychologically<br />

crippled”. There will be few <strong>in</strong> the <strong>ME</strong>/CFS community who can forget what Professor Wessely wrote almost<br />

two decades ago about them: “External attribution protects the patient from be<strong>in</strong>g exposed to the stigma of be<strong>in</strong>g<br />

labelled psychiatrically disordered, (afford<strong>in</strong>g) dim<strong>in</strong>ished responsibility for one’s own health….Our results are close to<br />

those predicted by learned helplessness” (J Psychosom Res 1990:34:6:665‐667).<br />

The purvey<strong>in</strong>g of mis<strong>in</strong>formation to – and the withhold<strong>in</strong>g of pert<strong>in</strong>ent biomedical <strong>in</strong>formation from ‐‐<br />

PACE Trial participants <strong>in</strong> the CBT arm of the trial may be unethical and it suggests that either the West<br />

Midlands MREC was derelict <strong>in</strong> its duty (a matter for the M<strong>in</strong>ister of State for Health) or was mis<strong>in</strong>formed.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!