CFS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is now becoming a major illness worldwide. How can we cope with this illness? What can be done to help a friend that we may know who has this illness?

First of all, we need to identify this illness and the effects that it can have. CFS poses unique challenges, as there may appear to be nothing wrong with the person suffering from it. The illness is often mistaken for other things such as: strained relationships between spouses other relatives, employers, teachers, health professionals and insurance companies.

The major criteria for diagnosing CFS are (1) a new onset of fatigue that lasts longer than six months and reduces one's capacity by up to 50% and (2) the exclusion of other medical or physical conditions that could cause the symptoms.

To be diagnosed with CFS, the patient needs to suffer from up to 11 symptoms of this illness. They are:

1) Low grade fever

2) Sore throat

3) Painful lymph nodes

4) Muscle weaknesses

5) Fatigue that is prolonged after exercise.

6) Muscle Pain.

7) Regular headaches.

8) Joint pain.

9) Lack of sleep.

10) Forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty in concentrating, depression.

11) Acute onset (over a few hours to a few days).

CFS is rarely a fatal illness; this knowledge may help you to cope if you are a sufferer. Most get better in time, and many do recover. Apparently patients have no detectable damage done to any of their body organs after recovery.

However, sufferers of this illness can have relapses. These are common and difficult to avoid, even with medication. For this reason, it takes great effort and patience to cope with CFS.

It is important that sufferers adjust themselves mentally to the fact they have a chronic illness that can take an unpredictable course in their life. Patience is the most important factor to have. Sufferers need to conserve their energy and permit their bodies to heal. They may need to prepare aggressively for coming events, making sure that they allow their bodies to have plenty of rest beforehand.

Vital, too, is the importance of maintaining a calm, mild spirit, as mental or emotional stress can cause a relapse. Avoid trying to explain your condition to skeptics who don’t understand, as this will create unnecessary stress for you.

What about treatment for this condition? Can anything be done? At the moment there is little that can be done medically to treat this illness, as those in the medical profession still don’t fully understand it. The advantages of going to your physician is that tests can exclude any other illnesses that you may have, which have similar symptoms, such as: cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and lyme disease. If these are identified at an early stage then valuable assistance can be given.

Rest and relaxation are recognized as the best treatment for this illness. Learn to pace yourself, know your limitations, and work within them. Gentle exercise such as walking or swimming in a warm pool can be beneficial if they are balanced.

For those of us that may know someone that is suffering from this illness, the best thing that we can do is to be encouraging to that person. Yes, be careful in what we say to them. Show that you believe that they really are sick. Make a phone call and perhaps visit that person, however most sufferers do prefer to be warned of a visit. And respect their wishes as far as visits or phone-calls are concerned. Then this way we will be able to help those who are suffering from this illness. And for those who are suffering, there are ways that we can learn to cope with this illness.