Illness perception and management in chronic fatigue syndrome

Autor(en)

Susanne Fischer, Urs Markus Nater

Abstrakt

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by profound fatigue of more than six months duration that cannot be sufficiently explained by any medical or psychiatric condition. Recent evidence on the course of CFS suggests relative stability of symptoms in one to two thirds of examined cases. The perpetuation of the illness has on part been attributed to cognitive-behavioral factors. More specifically, research provides evidence for the notion that certain illness perceptions (e.g., pessimistic outcome expectations regarding CFS) are not a mere consequence of suffering from a chronic health condition in general, but might be specifically pronounced in CFS patients, and seem to foster chronicity of symptoms. Moreover, the use of passive illness management strategies (e.g., focusing on CFS symptoms) seems to be characteristic of these patients, and such strategies have been shown to be associated with illness burden. In this chapter, we will briefly summarize current evidence on the role of illness perception and management in the perpetuation of CFS. An increased understanding of these factors is likely to improve therapies for CFS by enabling tailored interventions to these patients.

Organisation(en)

Externe Organisation(en)

Philipps Universität Marburg

Seiten

31-39

Anzahl der Seiten

9

Publikationsdatum

2014

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501010 Klinische Psychologie

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/07d69da6-0e8a-472c-8a42-772311339c2e