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Disclaimer This information should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation, and is not intended to replace the advice and treatment of a physician. Any use of the information set forth is entirely at the reader’s discretion.

Note I have written this report as it contains information that I would like to have known at the beginning of my ME/CFS journey, rather than discovering it after 8 years of the condition.

I have purposely kept the report as short as possible, and have spread the text out to make it easier to read.

It is my hope that you find it useful.

Any feedback welcome.

Simon Pimenta

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Introduction My name is Simon Pimenta. Back in 1997, I went off sick from work, and after a few months was given a diagnosis of ME/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and suffered from fibromyalgia. I didn’t work again for 8 years.

I felt exhausted all the time. I felt frustrated that:

• No one could help me get my health back

• Doctors didn’t have any solutions

• Many people didn’t understand that this was a real physical condition

• I experienced anxiety, as I couldn’t trust my body

• The slightest thing could cause setbacks

• My body seemed very sensitive to food, exercise, excitement and stress

• At times, even eating would often leave me feeling utterly exhausted

Does This Sound Familiar? I tried many things, spending a lot of money, trying to get my health back. Lots of people offered ‘solutions’, most of which cost a lot of money, but none of which fully resolved my health issues.

What Helped? A Doctor with degrees in Nutritional Medicine and Immunology identified candida, leaky gut syndrome and adrenal fatigue.

I believe the following things may have helped to some extent:

Anti-Candida Diet When I looked into symptoms of candida, which include bloating and infections- including fungal infections, I realised a lot of symptoms were consistent with someone experiencing candida. The anti candida diet helped. Dr Teitelbaum recommends it for everyone with ME/CFS/FM.

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Leaky Gut Protocol I felt I was better able to tolerate exercise after I completed this regime.

Adrenal Support I also took supplements to support the adrenals.

These things helped to varying degrees, but I still wasn’t well.

Finally, I discovered an approach that:

• Understood that this condition was real • Helped me make sense of why I stayed stuck • Helped me understand what suppresses or enhances immune

function, quality of sleep and energy production

My Recovery I believe that there are two crucial things that I needed to understand in order to influence my health and recovery:

1. The Stress Response

2. Neuroplasticity; the brain’s ability to build connections

In the book that I mention in the next section, the author- a Professor of neurology and biology at Stanford University, goes into a lot of detail regarding how stress affects people.

In my experience, most people that I have worked with over the last 11 years don’t have an understanding of these important concepts, and their relevance to someone experiencing ME/CFS, fibromyalgia or glandular fever.

Key Points Let me make it absolutely clear from the outset the following points:

1. ME/CFS Is A Real Physical Condition In my view ME/CFS and fibromyalgia (FM) are real physical conditions. They are not all in the mind.

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There is controversy around how the condition is defined.

I use the International Consensus Panel definition as a reference point, although some argue that this definition does not describe ‘real ME’.

For instance, The Nightingale Research Foundation argues that ME is caused by measurable injury to the vascular system of the Central Nervous System, which can be detected by a brain SPECT scan. If brain jury is not detected, then the person does not have ME.

This view is not currently universally accepted. If it were, it would raise the question ‘What do all the people whose symptoms cannot be detected by a brain SPECT scan have?’ I know many people who have been given a diagnosis of ME/CFS who have not been offered a brain scan.

Some people told they have CFS, don’t like this term, as they feel that this label does not acknowledge the seriousness and debilitating effect of the extreme mental and physical fatigue that sufferers experience. Some doctors use this term as it describes the symptoms and say it is not a diagnosis.

For simplicity, I will use the term ME/CFS in this report, to include conditions such as fibromyalgia (FM) and glandular fever (GF), as some believe that the underlying root issues are common to them all.

2. I Make No Claim That I Offer A Cure In order for an approach to be defined as a cure, appropriate trials need to be carried out and replicated showing the approach to be effective.

So it is up to individuals to decide how relevant the information is to their situation. It may be that there is a group of people for whom this information is irrelevant. You may decide that the issues discussed aren’t applicable to you.

If so, I truly wish you find the path to health via some approach that is safe and sustainable.

Others may decide that the issues discussed are very relevant to them. I know that this is the case, because I was one of those people, and I have coached many clients over the last 11 years who told me that they related strongly to the information in this report.

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3. There Is The View That The Condition: I. Is Multifactorial; that is that many factors in combination may cause

the illness

II. Is Individual, meaning that what caused the condition in one person might be different for another

III. May be a number of separate conditions

For instance, Dr Sarah Myhill believes that the symptoms of CFS (the term she uses) are a consequence of poor energy delivery at a cellular level, and that this is in part related to mitochondrial function/dysfunction.

She states that one reason for mitochondrial dysfunction may be genetic; that CFS is observed in families. As mitochondria is inherited from the mother, CFS shows up in mothers and daughters or sons, but not fathers and daughters or sons.

She says that many patients, asked how they found doing cross country runs at school, usually results in them saying that they struggled.

However, some patients enjoyed and excelled at such activities, and I have personally worked with people who have performed at a high level in their chosen sport. One client was in her Country’s Tae Kwan Do Team, another was a semi-professional footballer.

So clearly these are two distinct groups, the latter who were at one point robustly healthy and active.

So in the absence of conclusive data regarding cause and cure, any exploration of what may be the cause could consider:

1. What research can tell us

2. What theoretical approach makes sense to you

In order to see what sense one can make of ME/CFS, it is useful to examine two key models of health.

It is clear when talking to people about possible causes, that some people are not aware of these 2 models and their possible implications for our health.

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Models of Health The Medical Model Some people, whether they realise it or not, embrace the medical model of health. The medical model of health is heavily influenced by the work of Louis Pasteur, and his work has shaped the way we think about health and the approach of conventional medicine. Pasteur’s work contributed to the germ theory of disease.

This theory proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases. There is evidence to support this theory. However, it is not the whole story.

The Holistic Model One of Pasteur’s contemporaries, Claude Bernard argued that the germ theory was flawed.

He argued that state of the terrain (the soil in which disease develops) is crucial in the development of disease, rather than just the germ. Claude Bernard got the terrain theory from Antoine Bechamp, who called it the cellular theory.

There was disagreement between Bernard and Pasteur on this, but on his deathbed, Pasteur recanted the germ theory, saying, “Bernard was correct. I was wrong. The microbe (germ) is nothing. The terrain (milieu) is everything.”

The germ theory postulates that external germs that invade the body cause disease. Bechamp believed that microbes naturally exist in the body and that when the body is in a state of dis-ease, the germs are able to take hold in the body.

Bernard was making the point that we are exposed to germs all the time, but that the state of the recipient is the crucial factor.

For example, doctors treat sick people day in, day out and are exposed to germs. However, they don’t get sick all the time. Not everyone exposed to a virus, bacteria or chemical exposure (for instance pesticides) gets sick.

An incident in Bergen, Norway gives an interesting perspective on understanding health and disease. In Bergen in 2004 there was a high

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incidence of people being diagnosed with post viral fatigue and CFS, which was linked to a waterborne outbreak of giardiasis.

I worked with over 40 clients from Bergen, teaching them concepts about the mind/body connection. Many asked the same question:

“Both my partner/wife/husband and I drank the same water. I ended up with fatigue, they didn’t. How come?”

The terrain theory advocates considering this question looking at the many factors influencing health. These factors can be grouped into the following 4 categories:

Environment Exposure to bacteria, viruses, pollutants, etc. For instance, a person’s resistance to illness may be lowered if they are exposed to agricultural chemicals that have polluted the air or water.

Heredity Our genes

Medical Treatment Certain drugs, for instance antibiotics may weaken our immunity if taken repeatedly. Antibiotics, which means ‘against life’, kill off the healthy bacteria in our gut, as well as the bacteria that are causing health issues. In some countries, doctors prescribe a course of probiotics to take after antibiotics, to replace the healthy bacteria.

Lifestyle Diet, work/life balance, exercise, relationships to others and our relationship to ourselves, our mindset, the amount of stress we are experiencing and other factors can undermine or enhance our health and wellbeing.

This approach moves away from the idea that there is always one single cause of illness, and instead considers the possibility that a number of factors may contribute to health and sickness.

Of course, people may have a different combination of factors that may have contributed to them getting sick.

When I worked with the people from Bergen, some of the factors that individuals believed might be relevant to them were:

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1. A Pre-Existing Infection or Illness

2. Fitness One client believed that she was probably more susceptible to becoming ill after drinking the polluted water, because she had broken her leg, and she wasn’t as fit as normal. When she was fit, she rarely got ill in the past, but thought her immune system might not have been as robust during this period.

3. An Operation

4. An Inoculation It is know that inoculations can be a trigger for ME/CFS.

5. Food Poisoning

6. Stress Some clients reported experiencing stress at work. Some had experienced bullying. Others recognised that they were prone to stress and worry, which they felt explained why they got sick and their husband/wife, who was much more relaxed in their approach to life, didn’t become ill.

Of course, this list comprises a few factors; there are others.

What is interesting about the Bergen epidemic is that some people were still unwell after they had received successful medicinal treatment. We will explore possible reasons for this.

It is not always immediately obvious what may have contributed to some people becoming ill after drinking the polluted water.

However, there is a question that is more important than ‘What is the cause?’ which is:

What can I do to regain my health?

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What Positive Steps Can I Take? Lets look at those 4 factors again.

Heredity We may feel that we have no control over our genes. This could lead some people to become fatalistic and feel that they cannot influence their health, so they don’t take any positive steps. However this idea that ‘I can’t influence my health because of my genes’ may be wrong.

Research shows that other factors may outweigh genetic predisposition. So perhaps it is useful to relax about our genes.

Environment Clearly, it makes sense to address any environmental factors that we can. For instance, a friend who lived in part of the UK that was very wet and damp, felt that the mould in her home could be adversely affecting her health. She decided to move to another part of the country.

Another person I know felt that her home environment was unhealthy, as her mother was a very negative, aggressive person. This person decided that in order to support her recovery, she needed to find a new home.

Of course this may be challenging when we are unwell and have limited financial resources. However, she decided that the long term benefits outweighed the short term challenges of doing so.

Medical Treatment A medical intervention may have triggered the condition. Some clients report getting an infection whilst in hospital. Others say that they were given medication whilst having ME/CFS that worsened symptoms.

Dr Sarah Myhill suggests that people with ME/CFS can be sensitive to medication, and she avoids prescribing certain medications as far as possible. Some people dutifully take any medication the doctor gives them, without asking any questions, looking into the side effects, considering alternatives or getting another opinion.

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So it may be useful to look carefully into side effects of drugs and talk to a good pharmacist, who may know more about the pharmacology of drugs than the doctor. Some people do look at alternatives to medication.

Lifestyle Many people make changes to their diet and take supplements. I explore diet and supplements in a series of articles on my blog.

Work/life balance Some people recognise that they working in an unsustainable way and have to cut back their hours. Others have to stop work completely.

Exercise Some people realise that they were over-exercising. Others are simply not able to tolerate exercise levels that they were previously able to achieve, and have no option but to reduce their physical activity.

Results? For some people, changing the diet, taking supplements, making changes to work/life balance is enough to get them back onto the road to recovery. However some people still remain unwell.

These people, as did I, then consider other approaches that they may not have previously contemplated.

Having an understanding of how stress can affect our health and wellbeing, may offer some clues as to how to deal with it.

So lets examine what stress is, and how it can affect normal healthy people, and people who are experiencing a health challenge like ME/CFS.

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The Stress Response

Stress is the body’s reaction to a change. The stress response is the body’s attempt to re-establish a normal state of functioning.

The stimulus could be:

A change in temperature

The body responding to a virus

An emotional shock

Obviously if someone is experiencing a health challenge, then:

The body is experiencing stress

Being unwell will be a stressor

The symptoms may cause secondary symptoms, which results in more stress.

The primary role of the sympathetic nervous system (SN), part of the autonomic nervous system, is to stimulate the fight or flight mechanism, which can be activated by our:

• Thoughts • Feelings • Internal dialogue • Internal images

This mechanism evolved to protect our ancestors when in a threatening situation; perhaps being faced with a sabre toothed tiger or invaders.

People often think of stress as being the really big stuff- when we are really stressed; starting a new job or dealing with a loss.

The subject of how stress affects our wellbeing has been the study of Professor Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University.

He has written a book called ‘Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers’.

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Professor Sapolsky explains that if we think of a spectrum, at one end we have extreme fight or flight and at the other end is what is called 'rest and digest’. In the middle of the spectrum is homeostasis, which is a state of normal functioning.

Think of a zebra fleeing from a hungry lion. That’s fight or flight. Then think about lying on a beach or by a pool, sipping a cold drink. Your body is going to be in a relaxed state; rest and gigest.

When a lion is chasing a zebra, either the zebra is killed, or it escapes and lives. Whilst the zebra is running in fear of its life, it’s body releases powerful hormones to help it run away.

If it gets away, the zebra will recover from the episode, and the body re-establishes homeostasis. When the zebra is relaxing in the sun, physiologically it will be in the rest and digest state.

Professor Sapolsky says that what makes zebras different to humans is that zebras don’t experience all the frequent smaller stressors that humans do, for instance:

• The reaction someone has when they receive a call from a difficult person

• Saying to your self “Oh no, I forgot to attach the attachment to the email. What an idiot! What will that person think of me?”

• Missing a train

Zebras don’t ruminate on past mistakes, or worry about the future. They don’t say to themselves:

“I shouldn’t have tried to chat up that nice zebra whilst she was chatting to her friends.” or

“I hope the watering hole isn’t busy tomorrow. It was chaos this morning!”

What about someone who is experiencing chronic illness? When I was unwell with ME/CFS, I recognise that I was frequently:

• Chastising myself, especially if I had overdone it

• Feeling upset that people didn’t understand, or worse still, thought I was making it up, that it was “All in my head”

• Feeling concerned that activities would exacerbate symptoms �13

Does any of That Feel Familiar? Professor Sapolsky explains that stress affects almost everyone- perhaps except for that small group of people who seem to remain super cool in most situations. However many people do not fully understand how persistent stress, even at low levels, can impact on our health and wellbeing.

Professor Sapolsky suggests that according to research, all these stressors can cumulatively add up and cause all sorts of health issues. What makes us different to zebras is our ability to anticipate a perceived threat or to ruminate on past events. The reason that zebras don’t get ulcers is that they don’t experience all these intermittent stressors.

Normal, healthy people can become sick because they activate the fight or flight response frequently.

If you are experiencing a stressful job, a difficult boss, or are going through a difficult divorce, then you may activate the fight or flight response more than at another time in your life, when you were feeling fit, healthy and enjoying all aspects of your life.

There are many factors that can affect how often we activate the fight or flight response, and of course there are other factors that affect our health. However, the role of how stress affects us is often at best overlooked, and at worst completely ignored.

Research also tells us that activating the fight or flight response frequently can slow down recovery from illness.

The Stress Connection Most people are aware that when they are unwell, their tolerance of stress is markedly reduced; small amounts of stress, that they wouldn’t have noticed when they were well, can be debilitating.

People often say that their health fluctuates, but may not see how periods of stress or lack of stress are impacting their feelings of wellbeing/ill-health.

My observation from working with many clients is that they often haven’t fully realised the connection between NOT being stressed and an easing or improvement of their symptoms.

To put it another way, that when they have had a period of feeling calm, relaxed or feeling good, they feel better.

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Think about it. How often have you had good periods- however short, and not connected those good periods to an absence of stress, or to put it positively, that those periods of feeling good coincided with feeling relaxed?

What Does the Research Tell Us? This over-activation of the SN, known as autonomic dysfunction or dysautonomia is well documented.1,2

One review of review of 196 articles found that 65% described sympathetic nervous system (SN) predominance in these overlapping syndromes, and the authors proposed that there may be value in “exploring the use of non-pharmacological measures as well as drug therapies aimed to regain autonomic balance.” 3

Dr Charles Shepherd suggests that:

1. Most people with this illness link the onset of their symptoms to an infection. These people say that they don’t recover, and experience flu-like symptoms, as well as muscle and brain symptoms commonly associated with ME/CFS.

2. Other types of immune system stressors – vaccinations, trauma, pregnancy, surgery – can trigger ME/CFS.

3. Stress around the time of a triggering infection, or during the recovery period, can be an important co-factor in determining whether the person recovers or not.

The stress can be physical, mental, emotional, or a combination of all three. All of these can be a cause of autonomic dysfunction.

1 Newton, J. L., et al. "Symptoms of autonomic dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome." Qjm 100.8 (2007): 519-526.

2 Naschitz, Jochanan E., Daniel Yeshurun, and Itzhak Rosner. "Dysautonomia in chronic fatigue syndrome: facts, hypotheses, implications." Medical hypotheses 62.2 (2004): 203-206.

3 Martínez-Martínez, Laura-Aline, et al. "Sympathetic nervous system dysfunction in fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and interstitial cystitis: a review of case-control studies." JCR: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology 20.3 (2014): 146-150.

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How Does Stress Affect Us? In essence, every time our thoughts, feelings, internal dialogue or internal images activate the fight or flight mechanism, we are creating stress in our body.

Every time the fight or flight mechanism is activated, hormones including adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released into the bloodstream. These activate dramatic physical changes in the body, affecting our:

Energy

Our body converts energy stores to blood sugar, and we use energy less efficiently if we are frequently and unnecessarily switching on this stress response.

Also, one of the roles of the liver and muscles in particular, is to make long chain fatty acids; this is our energy store. This function is suppressed when the fight or flight mechanism is activated, and the body stops laying down energy stores. That may explain why even though some people sleep for 12 hours, as well as sleeping during the day, they wake up still feeling exhausted.

Thinking

Rational thinking is suppressed, and reactive thinking takes over. That is why when people are stressed, they say things that they later regret!

Digestion

The digestive system is affected, with blood diverted from the digestive tract to the limbs. If this happens regularly, then we are not digesting and utilising food efficiently. In the long term, this can result in digestive issues, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or ulcers.

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Sleep

We experience light or interrupted sleep. If the brain thinks that we are under threat, then we won’t experience deep refreshing sleep, where vital repair functions are carried out. This may explain why some people experience:

• Poor sleep • Difficulty in getting to sleep • Disrupted sleep patterns

Immunity

The Immune System is suppressed. We are three times more likely to get a cold when stressed, according to research4.

How often is the Fight/Flight Mechanism activated? If you consider that there are 86,400 seconds in a day, that is a lot of opportunities for unhelpful thoughts. This can have a profound effect on energy levels, our general health, clarity of thought, and other key functions.

In modern life, there are many triggers that we can interpret as being a threat which then activate the fight or flight mechanism. For healthy people, it may be activated for instance:

• Looking at your to do list • Leaving the house later than you intended to and rushing for the

train

By now you will have already realised that for someone who is unwell, there are many things that might activate the Fight or Flight mechanism, including:

• Being unwell and not knowing how to get well

• Not being able to trust our body

• Worrying that a certain activity is going to exacerbate symptoms; having a shower, going for a walk, chatting to someone.

I often ask clients ‘What percentage of the thoughts that you are having each day are calming, supportive and nurturing?”

Many clients tell me that it is less than 20%! This gives them some insight into how often they may be activating the fight or flight mechanism.

Is This Familiar? You are going out to do some shopping, or to meet a friend for lunch. Without even thinking about it, you start to feel anxious. You may be unaware of where these feelings are coming from.

What you do know is that the consequence of feeling anxious means that you will feel exhausted later. In order to understand what is going on here, you need to understand how the brain works - that will be discussed in the next section.

4Stress and the common cold: Cohen,S., Tyrrell, D., and Smith, A., "Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold'"

New England Journal of Medicine 325 (1991)

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2. The Concept of Neuro-Plasticity

In essence the brain learns by repetition. Scientists used to think that the adult brain didn’t change. We now know that every time you use it, the brain builds new connections; the neurons get thicker and stronger. There are many studies that demonstrate this. Eleanor Maguire of University College London carried out one study in 20005.

She studied London’s famous black-cab drivers to look at the effect that learning had on their brains. They had to memorise the names and locations of 25,000 streets and be able to describe the route between any 2 streets.

What she found was that part of their brain, the hippocampus- responsible for memory and spatial awareness, was larger and more highly developed than that of the general public.

The implications of this are that what you practice, you get good at. So imagine that you are learning to play a musical instrument. At first you really have to think about where you put your fingers.

As you practice this, the connections in the brain get stronger and faster, so that you get better at whatever you are practicing, until it becomes an automatic and unconscious skill, something you don’t even have to think about.

This is true of things that are useful, but also for things that are unhelpful. So for instance, every time you feel overwhelmed about the things you have to do, you get better at feeling overwhelmed. Every time you get frustrated about being unwell, you get better at being frustrated.

By now you will understand that you are also activating the Fight or Flight mechanism.

So let’s go back to the scenario mentioned at the end of the last section. You are going out to do some shopping, or to meet a friend for lunch. Without even thinking about it, you start to feel anxious.

When you are faced with this situation, your brain searches your memory banks to find out how to respond to this kind of situation. Unfortunately the brain has associated going out for a meal/shopping etc. with anxiety.

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Neuron (artist’s impression)

As this has happened a number of times, the brain starts telling the body that this is an appropriate time to start to feel anxious.

The brain thinks that you are under threat, and right on cue, you start to activate the fight or flight response. You now know what effect this has on your physiology, and so it will be no surprise to you that this can result in you feeling exhausted.

So can we change this so that we don’t feel anxious and stressed a lot of the time? This will be explored in the next section.

5 Woollett, Katherine, and Eleanor A. Maguire. "Acquiring “the Knowledge” of London's layout drives structural brain changes." Current biology 21.24 (2011): 2109-2114.

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Switching off the Stress Response

The Parasympathetic Nervous System The parasympathetic nervous system (PN) is part of the autonomic nervous system, responsible for stimulating ‘rest and digest’ functions.

When the PN is activated, it has these positive effects:

Energy

Thinking

Digestion

Sleep

Immune

We use energy steadily and the body deposit stores or reserves of energy

We are able to think creatively and with clarity

The digestive system works efficiently

We achieve deep and refreshing sleep, also known as delta sleep, where important repair functions are carried out

The immune system is doing its job

If you want to reduce the potentially harmful effects of stress, I believe that there are three things that may help:

1. Recognising When You’ve Been Knocked Off Balance People are often aware of some of the times that they are activating the fight or flight response, but don’t know how to stop activating it.

However, it is common that there are times when the fight or flight response is being activated, and people are not consciously aware that it is happening.

So it is crucial to understand how often you are activating this response.

2. Activating The Parasympathetic Nervous System Text book biology tells us that when we are calm, the PN is activated.

It would seem that we can activate this response. Professor Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School carried out pioneering work that has developed our understanding of how the mind and body interact.

Scientists routinely dismissed his work until he produced and replicated studies, demonstrating how the mind can influence the body, by triggering the PN, or as he calls it, the Relaxation Response.

There are many benefits of doing so, as already discussed. There may be many ways of triggering the PN. In this report, I will share some simple strategies (see appendix 1). There is research that shows that hypnosis can be affective in reducing stress.

There is a lack of research that shows that when you are lying on the beach in a relaxed state, that the PN is activated*, but I suspect most people have experienced the relaxing benefits of doing so.

3. Avoid Getting Knocked Off Balance In The First Place When I was unwell with ME/CFS, during periods of rest, I would spend time meditating, listening to relaxation CDs or practicing relaxation techniques.

I didn’t understand why this on its own didn’t result in a significant improvement in my health.

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You will now understand that practicing relaxation is important, but if you are still activating the fight or flight response a lot either during rest times, or when you are not resting, then that is impacting on your physiology as described earlier, and this may give you some insight as to why your progress has not advanced as much as you hoped.

*A University Professor I trained, on reading this, is now considering changing their research topic!

In order to avoid this, it is crucial to develop a mindset so that you are not activating the fight or flight response frequently.

As previously stated, if you are one of those people who remains super calm and collected, then you may not be activating the fight or flight response frequently.

If however, you recognise that you are prone to anxiety/worry, catastrophising, unhelpful internal dialogue, perfectionism (to name but a few unhelpful behaviours), then you may recognise that it would be useful to address these habitual responses.

So for instance, if you do something that is out of your comfort zone, is it possible that you can learn how to approach this activity - in the example given earlier of going shopping, without activating the Fight or Flight response? We know that those feelings of anxiety may have become a conditioned response.

At this point, some people start beating themselves up when they feel that maybe they are not thinking in the right way. If you are doing that, please stop, and be kind to yourself.

Consider that we are not taught this stuff at school. We are not taught how to use the most powerful computer on the planet- the human brain.

If you recognise that you are a person who does beat yourself up, ask for a copy of my free report ‘Six Steps To High Self Esteem’, in which I share strategies for being kinder to yourself.

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Conclusions Hopefully by now you will have an understanding that it may be possible to influence your health and wellbeing. Research shows us that activating the fight or flight inhibits the body’s capacity for healing, and research shows that prolonged stress can increase the risk of health problems.

You will now have an understanding of why in isolation, meditation, supplements etc may not be enough to help you improve your health.

Can techniques that identify and interrupt the fight or flight response help?

I can provide testimonials of clients who have used the techniques that I teach, who say that these techniques have helped them. However, that is anecdotal evidence.

As stated at the beginning of this report, currently there isn’t research that I am aware of that demonstrates that interrupting the Fight or Flight response and activating the PN will help alleviate ME/CFS.

That doesn’t mean that learning such techniques won’t be beneficial; it’s just that there aren't any studies at the moment that say ‘If you know how to switch off the fight or flight response, and know how to activate the relaxation response, you will get well”.

As stated at the beginning of the report, you have to decide whether you think that over activation of the fight or flight response could be a factor in the continuation of your condition, regardless of whatever triggered the illness.

Some people may decide that the issues discussed in this report are not relevant to them. If so I wish them well.

However, I know that others will recognise how the issues explored are relevant to them.

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Free Strategy Session If like many other people I have worked with, you are intrigued by what you have learned in this report and want to find out more, I offer a free one hour, no obligation coaching session.

During the session, we will work together to:

1. Clarify your current situation

2. Identify a number of clear, reasonable goals

3. Identify what is stopping you from achieving them

4. Identify practical steps to help you achieve these goals.

To find out more about this, email or give me a call.

Money Back Guarantee When I was ill, I encountered many people who claim that their supplement, therapy or treatment would help me, but they weren’t confident enough about what they had to offer me to give me a money back guarantee.

I run a programme called Building Resilience.

I offer the first module on a money back guarantee basis; if you don’t feel that the training does not equip you to address the challenges you face and don’t feel that you received any benefit from the session, you don’t pay.

So you get 2 opportunities- the free coaching session and module 1, to see if my approach suits you (see T&Cs).

Concessions I appreciate that many people with ME/CFS are financially stretched. I am happy to discuss concessionary rates/payment spreading options with people on minimum benefits.

Feel free to contact me to find out more.

Wishing You Great Health!

Simon Pimenta

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Appendix: Relaxation Strategies There follows some simple strategies that you can use if you want to relax, or calm the mind.

You can use the second strategy if you find it difficult to fall asleep, or to get back to sleep if you wake during the night, particularly if you find that your mind won’t switch off.

1. Counting Backwards

Decide how long you want to do this for. Clients have said that doing this for just one or two minutes helps them feel calmer. You can do it for longer; 5, 10, 30 minutes, whatever works for you.

It may be helpful to start with a shorter period, and do it for longer periods as you get better at doing it, as opposed to electing to do it for 30 minutes, but spending a lot of that time day dreaming.

Set a timer if you want to keep track of time.

As you breathe in, count 300. As you breath out, count 299. As you breathe in, count 298. As you breath out, count 297 etc.

Keep doing this for the time period. If you find yourself thinking about things again, become aware that you are thinking about something, let that thought go, and go back to the counting. If you lose your place, choose a number to continue from, and continue counting.

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2. Finger Technique

As you breathe in, at the beginning of the breath, focus on your little finger on one of your hands and say a word to yourself in your head. It can be any word at all:

Peace, calm, trust.

As you breathe out, say another word.

So as you breathe in, you might say: Peace

As you breathe out, you might say: Calm

Alternatively as you breathe in and out, you say a very short phrase: I am calm and peaceful

It doesn’t really matter what you say, although it’s good not to focus on sleeping, or say ‘I must relax’.

As you breathe in again, at the beginning of the breath, focus on your ring finger on your hand and repeat the words or phrase as you breathe in and out.

Repeat for middle finger, index finger and thumb.

When you get to your thumb, go back to your little finger, and repeat whole sequence.

Keep doing this over and over. If you find yourself thinking about things again, just stop doing that, and go back to using this technique.

Some clients say “I tried this technique, but it didn’t work.”

When I ask what they mean by that, they say “I start thinking about things.” I then invite them to use the technique. It does take practice.

Many clients report that using this technique has helped them, including clients who have experienced insomnia for years.

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Other Strategies for Sleep

1. Stretching

If you feel like you are wide-awake, it often can be helpful to get up and spend 5 minutes or so doing some gentle stretching. Obviously you may have to go to another room if you are sharing a bed!

2. Write it down

If you have lots of thought going through your head, particularly if you are thinking of tasks you need to do, it can be useful to write it down, so that you have noted it, and don’t need to be trying to remember it. Writing in a notepad is deemed to be better than using an iPad or smart phone, as it is believed that the light from the device in close proximity may stimulate and awaken.

Also, spending some time before you go to bed writing down your thoughts, may be helpful to help you process the day. (See Helpful Habits document).

3. Ensure Room Is Ventilated

An airless stuffy room is not conducive to sleep. If you don’t like sleeping with your window open, ensure that the room is ventilated during the day, or before you go to bed.

4. Other Issues

Diet, stress (including difficult relationships) and exercise are factors that may need to be addressed. Obviously, exercise can be an issue for someone with ME, which needs to be approached with care. I do not advise people to push through or ignore symptoms.

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Disclaimer

This information should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation, and is not intended to replace the advice and treatment of a physician. Any use of the information set forth is entirely at the reader’s discretion.

Any Questions?

Contact Me: Simon Pimenta Dip Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP, Life Coach Member of the British Institute of Hypnotherapy

Telephone: +44 (0)20 8299 9534 Mobile: +44 (0)7906 568 843

Email: simon@inspiringchange.co.uk Website: www.inspiringchange.co.uk Skype: simon.pimenta4 twitter @simonpimenta

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