Mental health and growing up
factsheets
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) - helping your child to get
better: information for parents, carers, young people and
anyone who works with them
About this leaflet
This is one in a series of leaflets for parents, teachers and
young people entitled Mental Health and Growing Up. These
aim to provide practical, up-to-date information about mental
health problems (emotional, behavioural and psychiatric disorders)
that can affect children and young people. This leaflet aims to
explain what chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is, its causes and
symptoms, and offers practical advice about how to get help for a
young person who is suffering from it.
Introduction
What is CFS?
The main symptom is extreme tiredness (fatigue) after little
effort which is not improved by rest and not explained by physical
and psychiatric illness. CFS commonly starts with a short or
sudden illness, such as 'flu' or glandular fever, but it can also
start gradually. It is a severely disabling condition that can
often go on for a long time or comes goes. Common symptoms
include:
- headaches
- aching muscles and other bodily pains
- disruption of your child's usual sleeping and eating
patterns.
Like other severe physical illnesses, CFS has some important
emotional and psychological
effects. CFS is a rare condition that usually starts in
mid-teens, but can occur earlier (but rarely before the age of 7
years). CFS can be difficult diagnosis to make. Children often
receive repeated specialist medical investigations. Other terms can
be used such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) to refer to the same
condition.
What are the psychological effects of
CFS?
The child may have some of the following symptoms:
- feeling depressed, irritable and anxious
- finding it difficult to concentrate or remember things
The disorder can seriously disrupt normal life. Your child may
be unable to:
- carry out their usual activities
- go out and see friends
- carry on with their hobbies.
School can be very difficult to cope with. Young people with
CFS may quickly become very unfit from staying in bed, or just
doing not very much for a long time. This causes rapid muscle loss
- even in healthy people. All these complications make recovery
more difficult.
Everyone in the family can feel the strain. Sometimes a
parent may have to give up work to nurse their sick child. Brothers
and sisters may feel that they are being neglected. Parents
may disagree about whether the child is really sick, or is just
attention-seeking.
How can I get help?
In the early stages of the illness, it may seem that no one
knows what the problem is and how to solve it. This can upset the
child, who may feel that no one believes that they are ill or
understands. Relationships can become difficult at home and at
school.
Your general practitioner or school doctor will be able to
refer your child to a paediatrician or child psychiatrist in your
local
child and adolescent mental
health service for assessment and treatment. The school,
including the school nurse and psychologist, will support your
child with problems at school.
Treatment
The aim is to help the child or young person with CFS to
gradually resume normal activities. There has been some controversy
about how best to treat children with CFS.
Research looking at various approaches to treatment suggest a
combination of approaches, including
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and
graded exercise therapy, and does not specifically support any one
type of treatment. A programme of gradually increasing
gentle activity will help to rebuild your child's muscles and
fitness.
Family or individual taking therapies (such as CBT) can help
in overcoming depression, anxiety, lack of confidence, poor
motivation, or family and relationship problems. It can be
important to look at ways of getting your child's education back on
track by talking with your child's teachers.
Although it can be hard to know when and how to encourage your
child, and when to comfort them, it is important to try to maintain
a supportive and positive outlook. You may find expert advice from
your child's paediatrician, child psychiatrist and Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Services' team, and education staff,
helpful. It is a good idea for everyone involved in helping your
child with CFS to meet together to talk about progress from time to
time. This allows everyone to share ideas about the best ways
forward - physical, psychological and educational. Working as a
team is important and a regular review of progress is
essential.
Research looking at how children recover has shown
that the majority of severely affected children make a
complete recovery, and others improve sufficiently to lead near
normal lives.
References
Sources of further information
© September 2011. Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Reviewed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Child and Family
Public Education Editorial Board.
This leaflet may be downloaded, printed out, photocopied and
distributed free of charge as long as the Royal College of
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from the Head
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Please note that we are unable to offer advice on individual cases. Please see our FAQ for advice on getting help.
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