Mickel and Reverse Therapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - 1

Mickel and Reverse Therapy a breakthrough treatment for M.E / CFS

Mickel Therapy and Reverse Therapy may well have solved the mystery of M.E / CFS - and more importantly it is a treatment which can cure it.

I first heard about this therapy in March 2004 - three years into my illness. I had greatly improved my condition using weights, Osteopathy and many of the other methods listed on this site. This meant I could do plenty if I chose a good time for me. On the other hand working to other peoples' schedules could still wear me out, so work, socialising, relationships etc - all looked unlikely.

It worked for M.E!

The last of my 5 sessions was in October 2004. Now in July 2010 my symptoms are gone. I have been working full time for many years, working, socialising, living a more normal life. I feel exactly as I did before my illness, so am to all intents and purposes cured and I expect M.E / CFS to have no more say in my life.

It has worked for me. And I believe it could work for the majority of people with M.E & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia

Not one nor the other nor neither nor both

It helps to get a little bit Zen to understand the ideas behind Mickel Therapy and Reverse Therapy. In many ways it's easier to define these new therapies by defining what they are not.

  1. They are not physical therapies, like massage, although they view M.E / CFS as a physical illness.
  2. It is not a psychiatric therapy, although the sessions involve sitting and talking to the therapist.
  3. It is not a therapy in the traditional sense, i.e delivered by a therapist. The client treats themselves, but you do need sessions with the therapist to keep you going in the right direction.
  4. It is not something to understand solely theoretically, although there is a sound theoretical basis behind it.
  5. Despite the name it is not about regression or memory, although the lead in to the illness can provide a useful starting point for the treatment.

Confused? Good. This treatment is fairly unique, so that's probably the best way to start.

The Hypothalamus in M.E / CFS and Fibromyalgia

The theory behind these therapies are that M.E / CFS is caused by an over-active Hypothalamus, and so a new name came about for M.E / CFS, Hypothalamitis.

The Hypothalamus is the region of the brain that takes in all sorts of information, from the physical body, from the emotions and from our concious and subconcious thoughts. It seeks to balance all this input, to make sense of it. Then by controlling the pituitary gland it sets up the body to deal with the external world as it understands it. The nervous system, the immune system, the digestive system, heart rate, breathing, etc, etc, everything is controlled via the Hypothalamus.

Far from being the product of an under-active system, M.E / CFS is actually the product of an over-active one, because the body/mind believes we are under threat and goes into overdrive trying to alert us to do something about it. So we get head fog because the brain is being set up for action not thought; sore muscles are constantly being primed for activity; and glands swell to get the immune system ready to defend us from non-existent bugs. The aim of these therapies is to identify what the body/mind believes hasn't been resolved, and somehow let it know the problem has been dealt with. As a result the Hypothalamus can switch off the alarms and allow the body to function normally. The length and severity of the illness should not affect chances of success - for some people the alarms may be sounding louder and longer - but once the switch has been flipped the result is the same, no more symptoms!

How to stop M.E / Chronic Fatigue syndrome

So how exactly do you get in touch with the body/mind and instruct the Hypothalamus to switch off the alarms? In each session Client and Therapist work out a message that expresses what the Hypothalamus is probably concerned about. This message is then written on a card. In between the sessions whenever the symptoms increase the client goes to a quiet place, reads the card to notify the body/mind this problem has been recognized (the body/mind is constantly monitoring our concious and subconcious thoughts). Then the client takes some sort of action that he/she feels the body/mind needs.

The Hypothalamus takes note of all this and if the message and action are what the body/mind wants, (rather than what we think it wants) it will gradually get the idea the problem is being dealt with. The Hypothalamus then reduces the symptoms until over days or weeks the symptoms should lessen and eventually disappear.

The simplicity of this procedure is likely to be the main problem for clients and therapists. The process usually takes several sessions as it's not always obvious what these messages are. There is nothing magical about these messages per se. Rather think of them as keys to open a dialog with your body/mind. You may get a new message in each session, as the body/mind may perceive more than one problem. Or each session may bring the refinement of an existing message - like going back to the hardware store to have your new front door key filed so it opens the door without sticking.

That's the theory and practice in nutshell really, but it is probably much easier to understand if you read how it worked for me on the next page.

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