I got the ok to post this link. It's a petition to Oprah to protest her show on on "health problems because you lost your spirit" which originally included reference to CFS and FMS. You can sign the petition and forward it to your friends and family if you want. http://www.petitiononline.com/cad201ow/


[This message has been edited by cioc1212 (edited 02-18-2001).]

Hi cioc1212,
Well, I DID sign it, but I must say that I was VERY disappointed that the focus of the message was ONLY CFS. Yes, I know it DID mention FMS, but not really, as ALL the info included was directed to CFS, and FMS appeared to be a second thought addition.
jmho

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Copper
Let Miracles Replace all Grievances

Copper, you're right. I hadn't even noticed that, I just skimmed the letter. Hopefully, Oprah will link them together since most people do already. She had actually stated "CFS and FMS" in her original request to the public.

Thanks for posting this link - i'm signing the petition!!

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Sujenke

It appears that this show is airing today.

Did anyone see it? I signed the petition, too. #2769, so there were a fair number of us asking for this.

Val, I caught part of it. It was about how taking care of your spirit and slowing down your lifestyle can affect your health for the better. She talked about how our hectic lives can make us sick and had a woman with Lupus who was able to go into remission by changing her lifestyle.

It was a decent show but it reminds me of why I don't watch Oprah anymore, there's too much of that "spiritual journey" and "get in touch with yourself" and touchy-feely diffuse light stuff. I don't think that's really in touch with reality and life for the average person who doesn't have millions of dollars and staff to help them. I see real life as a cross between Oprah and Roseanne, somewhere in the middle. I've never done well with that nebulous talk, I need a game plan----A. B. C.

Hey Rach -- so it wasn't a blame the victim-type thing after all, then?

(see my brief diatribe on the web.md interview in response to the discussions there...)

Val

Hi Val, no it wasn't. It was pretty non-specific and generalized but I didn't catch the whole thing with the usual chaos here at that time of day. I did see a segment with a lady who said that her lupus went into remission when she slowed her life down. She made statements very similar to what Al just said on another post, how hard it is to slow herself down.

I think that your mental attitude and spirituality DO affect your physical health but it is a very fine line to discuss it in a way that doesn't hint that people who are really sick are spiritually bankrupt or that they have a bad attitude. A very fine line. From my understanding, Oprah was originally leaning towards a show on people being "healed" after they changed their beliefs or found God,improved their attitude, or whatever and I think that would set people with "hidden" illnesses like ours back about 10 years. I don't know if the show yesterday was a revision of her original idea or if she's still planning another show.

I agree, and I probably even believe in miraculous healings, the power of prayer and meditation, the contribution of mental attitudes and beliefs to health states, and so on.

It is just too annoying to me that just because FM is something MDs don't understand and can't treat or explain, that mostly happens to women (on whom so little research money is spent), it still ends up getting that "all in your head" label, even in this day and age.

Enough ranting on this. The Oprah thing and then the web.md article upset me!!

Val