• Overwhelming fatigue that completely destroys one's energy and strength

• Cognitive problems, lack of concentration, or mental malaise (brain fog)

• Sleep disorder, wakefulness, unable to go back to sleep

• Persistent muscle discomfort and migratory joint pain

• Nagging scratchy and sore throat

• Enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or armpits that are tender and painful

• Mild to severe headaches, nausea

• Depression and anxiety

• Side effect and reactions to medications

• Muscle atrophy due to lack of activity

• Social isolation caused by fatigue

• Lifestyle restrictions

• Inability to work

The following scenario, based upon an actual person with CFS, demonstrates the serious impact of this disorder and how it impacts every component of a person's life.

She did it! She just won her biggest case and now it was time to celebrate with her team of fellow lawyers.

For years, 45-year-old Marla Patterson has lived life as a highly successful lawyer in a large corporate law firm. She has been driven by her love of the law and works 70 to 80 hours per week. Words, both spoken and written, are the foundation of her work.

For some time she has noticed that she is not sleeping well and that she is constantly tired to the point of exhaustion. She has been experiencing mild to severe headaches that she cannot explain. Her muscles and joints ache. One day, as she is preparing a legal brief, the right words elude her. She feels as if she is in a "brain fog."

The debilitating fatigue has caused her to miss work numerous times and the senior partners are becoming concerned. She consulted a doctor about her symptoms. Blood work and a CT scan were done. The doctor told her he could find nothing medically wrong with her.

She decided to take a four months disability leave so that she could rest and recover her stamina and start to feel better. After four months, she eagerly returned to work. Within eight weeks, her fatigue and cognitive problems forced Patterson into long-term disability. She has never returned to the practice of law.

Now, Patterson squeezes work in between naps as she battles chronic fatigue syndrome. This illness has turned her life upside down. For a time, she lost her identity. Patterson was so tied up in her work that she spent almost four months in counseling to deal with her inability to return to the law firm. Patterson went through the four distinct phases that chronic illness patients experience: crisis, stabilization, resolution, and integration. Within these phases, they experience changes in the physical/behavioral, psychological, and social components of their lives.

In the crisis phase, Patterson's symptoms worsen. She was able to work around symptoms up to this point. Then she realized she could no longer hide the fatigue, the confusion, and the pain of CFS. The crisis phase ends with a diagnosis.

In the stabilization phase, Patterson experienced a sense of psychological relief. She finally had a name for her condition, but she also understood that she must learn to live with this condition. With this realization came fear, despair, and depression.

Patterson realizes that she needs to know as much as she can about her condition. What exacerbates my symptoms and fatigue? She begins to understand the limits of CFS while struggling to be who she was.

In the Resolution phase, Patterson comes to realize that relapses will recur and she is grief-stricken and wonders if she should just give up. She has a wonderful support team made up of phase-by-phase counselors, physical and occupational therapists, and a supportive family. As she works with her support team, she gains a sense of control and comes to respect herself again.

During this time, Patterson has found a new passion. She has always had an interest in nonprofit organizations and has decided there must be small ones that need a manager. She has started to advertise and has her first client. Patterson can work from home and do the work needed by the organization between needed naps. Thus, Patterson has moved into the final phase of integration.