Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An Investigation into Possible Causes and Understandings of the Illness

Abstract

There has been increasing interest in many fields in examining the effects of social pressures and the lifestyles of individuals on health and illness. Relating such factors to syndromes and other illnesses is an important aspect to understanding the origins of many current problems, including chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). However, many individuals, both health professionals and lay people, do not appear to put much consideration into psychosocial factors in disease origins. This may be related to the biomedical health model which is prevalent in Western cultures. The biomedical model is known for a number of assumptions, including the Cartesian dualism which places the mind apart from the body (Scheper-Hughes and Lock 1987:6). By persisting in understanding CFS in terms of such a model, certain social advantages to the sufferers can be conferred, including societal acceptance and understanding. Unfortunately, it appears that by ignoring the social factors, such as the many lifestyle similarities of many patients of CFS, crucial considerations are overlooked. This may then prevent adequate understandings of the syndrome.