10/20/07

Hello Lisa,

     I am currently reading your book and loving it. I would like to tell you my story and see if you can direct me.

     I was diagnosed with CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome). With the onset of this, I became severly depressed. It came on rather suddenly with flulike symptoms and within a week. I was almost bedridden. My family practice physician ran every test imagineable before diagnosing me with this condition. He told me their was no treatment except palliative drug therapy for my headaches, antidepressants for my depression, seizure meds for my brain fog etc. My involvement in natural health and healing led me to decline these offers of "help".

      Shortly after my diagnosis, someone gave me a book by Pastor Henry Wright from Pleasant Valley Church in GA. He claimed that CFIDS was caused by an oversecretion of neuroendocrine hormones that resulted from the body being in a constant state of "fight or flight" . This was caused by sinful fear. I attended a week-long seminar and agreed wholeheartedly with his theory, but it did not help me much. He also taught that food allergies, ashthma and many other disorders were caused by fear, anger, bitterness etc. I met many folks there who had recovered from illnesses. I actually went there because a local Christian woman recovered after attending the conference.

     Later, I went on a grain-free diet called SCD for people with intestinal disorder (I have celiac disease) and also took a prescription antifungal medication that changed the course of my illness and I was able to recover 95%. I still have brain fog and headaches. Brain fog is a surreal, drugged feeling that results in cognitive impairment (mostly problems with short term memory)

      A couple of years back I tried the UK therapy called Mickel Reverse Therapy designed to cure CFIDS and FMS. It was then that I discovered that my daily experiences were directly related to my brain fog. I discovered that my brainfog was generally tied to one experience - feeling overwhelmed. Now I am a homeschool mom of 7 children, so there are plenty of opportunities to feel overwhelmed. BUT sometimes my fog seems unrelated to an occurance in my life, but I am certain is caused by "fight or flight" chemical reactions in my body. Since I cannot discern any particular thought pattern that is occuring I do not know how to stop this physiological reaction. Dr. Mickel taught that these physical reactions were chemical learned responses to something from the past. For example, if you were molested by a man wearing a certain cologne, your body might react by "fight or flight" when that cologne is smelled in a shopping mall 20 years later, without you ever having a conscious thought about your molestation. Yet millions of folks go thru their day to lives, without having physical manifestations of fight or flight, and we have all had bad experiences.

  While I am no longer suffering from extreme fatigue and depression. I hate living with this daily battle of brain fog. I can assure you that I am not making this up. I get a pressure in the front part of my head and I really do become cognitively impaired. Activities like following a recipe or remembering what to do next are very hard for me then. I also get photosensitivity and I am VERY bothered by artificial lighting. I get a brain fog almost everytime the sun goes down. So winter is hard for me. I have tried to figure out what is the cause of this and what fear I am engaged in and cannot make any progress here.

  I am certain that my fog is biological, but I am equally certain that the biological changes must be caused by stress. I have done extensive research on Hans Seyle's findings and many other researchers are coming to the conclusion that CFS is a stress related disorder and actually a late stage of Selye's General Adaption Syndrome (GAS). A new treatment for CFS is called The Lightnening Process and it is sweeping through the UK. I am not sure of the details, but supposedly it teaches you to stop the physiological stress response leading to CFS by controlling thoughts. So the theory of CFIDS and stress is coming to greater acceptance by these recoveries.

  I don't know where to go from here. I can only imagine how much more effective as a mother and wife I would be if I did not have to deal with the daily fog issues. It is exhausting trying to function in this state with any kind of efficiency.

  If I am out driving and someone pulls in front of me - brain fog. If my kids are behaving poorly - brain fog. If I read a homeschooling book that points out all my inadequacies as a homeschool teacher - brain fog. If I get a cold that stresses my body - brain fog. If I am suddenly startled by a loud noise - brain fog. If I eat a food I am allergic too - brain fog. If I get too little sleep - brain fog. In short, anything that is physiological stressor has the ability to produce these physical symptoms in me.

  I wonder if you have every heard of this and know of a solution. I have been reading some books by Nouthetic counselors (VERY slowly as my time is in great demand). I go to a good psychology free biblical church. I try to maintain regular devotions. Thank you.

Our reply:

Thank you for your email. You have taught us a lot about CFIDS / CFS and we agree that it sounds like fear causes a chemical reaction in your brain that blanks it momentarily.

We cover overcoming fear on page 233 of our book - you have probably already reached that point in your reading. Beyond that, there is not much more we can tell you except that the battle is truly in the mind and that is where the victory is won. Keeping your mind focused on Christ and practicing faith in, and obedience to, Him should minimize the impact of fear upon your daily experience.

God bless you as you homeschool your 7 children!