You are in a room full of people, and you are about to meet a potential employer. The interviewer asks the question, “How would you describe yourself?” You are a bit perplexed because you aren’t sure how to answer this question. You try to think of positive words that will give the best impression of you. You hope that your interviewer doesn’t think you are too negative and will hire you.
In reality, however, the interviewer is hoping to see someone who can deal with hardship. A person who can keep a smile on their face despite being ill, or who can overcome challenging situations, is usually seen as a good candidate for the job. People who do well during a job interview often have great employment opportunities available to them.
This is because the interviewer wants to be sure you will fit into the company’s culture. Many employees will choose to hire a new employee who has a good personality and fits in with the rest of the team, rather than someone who can’t handle stress or who doesn’t get along with others.
People who have ME/CFS may appear to be in good health because they do not experience the physical effects of their illness as other chronically ill patients do. Often, the blood tests ordered by medical providers do not show anything out of the ordinary, and this can contribute to the difficulty in getting a diagnosis. Approximately 90 percent of people with ME do not receive a correct diagnosis and are either misdiagnosed, or they are told that they don’t have ME at all.
ME is a complex, chronic disease that affects multiple body systems and can be triggered by infection. It can cause severe symptoms, and many people are left unable to work and need around-the-clock care.
It is not clear what causes ME, but it appears to be an autoimmune disorder with neuroimmune components. It is also a post-exertional malaise (PEM), and can cause a number of additional symptoms including unrefreshing sleep, cognitive impairment and orthostatic intolerance (rapid heart rate upon standing).
ME/CFS is an unpredictable illness that requires patients to be paced and not push themselves too hard. While there are no cures or FDA-approved treatments for ME, there are some effective strategies for managing it. These include: pacing, using assistive devices, sleep aids and medications to help with pain and anxiety. The National Institutes of Health recently announced ME research centers, which will hopefully lead to better treatment options for those living with this complex and misunderstood disease.