What the Heck are They Talking About: Neurological CFS: Psychology Today story has more factual errors than there are CFS and fibromyalgia advocates

Okay, so I'm joking around as usual, but the June 2005 issue of the consumer magazine Psychology Today started with the cover "Chronic Fatigue: how your mind makes you sick" and the factual errors just kept coming.

I still don't understand how people who write for a living can't figure out that a single common symptom of many diseases is not the same thing as a medically defined syndrome, which is a specific pattern or group of signs and symptoms, but then I'm a tad picky.

HMMMM. Maybe advocates should send Stedman's medical dictionary instead of letters to the editor.

For advocates who want to make sure their "Letter to the Editor is one of the golden few published the following are tips come from both members of the media and other advocacy movements.

So take a memo.

Tips on Writing Effective
Letters to the Editor

To maximize chances of getting your letter published:

Do:

* respond directly to an article or commentary published within the previous few days and follow the citation format used in the target publication. For example: Re "Chronic Fatigue," Psychology Today, June 2005:

* keep it concise and focus on the single most important point. Be sure to follow the guidelines and word count limit of the target publication (100 to 250 words is typical for a letter to the editor).

* limit the number of points you make and stay narrowly focused (don't try to address two separate issues in one letter).

* use verified facts (take the time to check original sources);

* create immediacy by indicating how readers will be affected by the issue you address whenever possible;

* point people to a resource for more information (like the World Health Organization) or a specific action to take whenever practical;

* pay close attention to letters by others. Note effective and ineffective approaches, style, length, etc. Be a student of persuasive writing;

Avoid:

* overstating/exaggerating your point

* pejoratives (insulting your opponents or other advocates)

* jargon or acronyms (spell out any name the first time you use it, followed by the acronym in parenthesis) Example: chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

* saying "I'm writing to..." Omit needless words and use active language.

Here is an example of an advocacy letter that met the above criteria and was published by the New York Times:

Chronic Fatigue? Have a Sugar Pill

To the Editor:

Re ''Placebos Fail the Test'': The article highlights the widespread misconceptions about chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome.

While the condition is often referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome and confused with plain old fatigue, studies suggest it is strongly linked to debilitating neurological and immunological problems.

Many doctors who do not treat it consider the condition a questionable psychological illness, which manifests as physical symptoms.

But there was once a time when multiple sclerosis was not considered a ''real'' disorder either, and those who continue to hold to the theory that chronic fatigue syndrome is a psychological illness are perhaps equally misinformed.

BIxxxxxx Mxxxxxxxx
xxxxxx, N.J.

Want to learn more? Hear it from the Editor behind the "letters to the editor" at the New York Times.

Okay ready, set, go ...

What the Heck are They Talking About: Neurological CFS

Psychology Today story has more factual errors than there are CFS and fibromyalgia advocates

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