Harnessing Neuroplasticity for Chronic Fatigue Recovery

In this blog post over at Psychology Today, I get practical and look at tangible ways we can we use our psychology to affect our biology. Here is an excerpt:

Researchers and clinicians are increasingly taking an integrative, psychoneuroimmunological approach to understanding myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID. This means looking at the ways that psychosocial and environmental factors interact with the nervous system, the immune system, the gut, and the endocrine system to give rise to ill health. This marks a departure from a traditional biomedical view of assuming that there is always a single pathophysiological cause for illness.

Given that major risk factors for long COVID and ME/CFS are psychosocial stress, chronic inflammation, and gut dysbiosis, it makes sense that interventions that target each of these areas may aid recovery. Research into immune therapies and gut probiotics for long COVID and ME/CFS is ongoing.

As a psychologist, I am particularly interested in how we can work with the brain and wider nervous system to support recovery. Emerging research from neuroscience and psychoneuroimmunology points to several ways we can use our psychology to affect our biology.

In the full post, I explore these three approaches:

1. Develop a coherent understanding of what's going on for you.

2. Change your relationship with your symptoms.

3. Gradually expose yourself to symptom triggers.

Head over to Psychology Today to read the full post.