Meanings of ME: Interpersonal and Social Dimensions of Chronic Fatigue, 1st ed. 2015

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS or ME) is a problematic diagnosis which can be interpreted in conflicting ways by doctors, patients and others. Meanings of ME signals a paradigm shift in thinking about the illness by providing fresh perspectives from doctors, clinicians and those who have personal knowledge of CFS/ME.

Preface 1. Introduction PART I: WAYS OF SPEAKING 2. Personally Speaking: Experiences of Chronic Fatigue; Christopher Ward 3. Scientifically Speaking: CFS/ME in the Medical Literature; Christopher Ward 4. Diagnostically Speaking: how Should We Classify CFS/ME - and does it matter?; Hugh Rickards 5. Historically Speaking: Three Influences on the Way We Think About CFS/ME; Christopher Ward PART II: PERSONAL INTERPERSONAL AND PUBLIC MEANINGS 6. Symptoms into Words: How Medical Patients Talk About Fatigue; Penny Standen, Christopher Ward, Charlotte Beer and Laura Saunders 7. Meanings of CFS/ME in the Lives of Couples; Matt Horrocks and Christopher Ward 8. The self and others in CFS/ME: Reinterpreting Research Evidence; Christopher Ward and Matt Horrocks 9. The Public Meanings of CDS/ME: Making Up People; John Cromby PART III: PATIENTS, DOCTORS AND IDENTITIES 10. The Challenge of CFS/ME in Primary Care; Laura Saunders 11. The Said and the Unsaid: Ambivalence in CFS/ME; Christopher Ward 12. Stigma, Unspeakable Dilemmas and Somatic Symptoms - a Legacy of Suffering in CFS/ME and Fibromyalgia; James Griffith and Nancy Ryan 13. What Does the Diagnosis Say?; Christopher Ward 14. Ways of Not Knowing; Christopher Ward

John Cromby, Loughborough University, UK James Griffith, George Washington University, USA Matthew Horrocks, Nottinghamshire Healthcare, UK Hugh Rickards, University of Birmingham, UK Nancy Ryan, National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association, USA Laura Saunders, Derbyshire Healthcare, UK Charlotte Beer, University of Nottingham, UK Penny Standen, University of Nottingham, UK Christopher Ward, University of Nottingham, UK