Is your tiredness more than burnout? Know all about chronic fatigue syndrome

People’s obsession with ‘hustle culture’ is quite evident. Dealing with constant commuting, navigating traffic, and working in challenging professions leaves one perpetually tired. When someone claims they’re “always tired”, it’s easy for anyone, including employers, close relatives, or medical practitioners, to dismiss it as city-related burnout. However, exhaustion should be distinguished from suffering from a serious illness such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

“There comes a point when overwork and a chronic illness needing treatment become indistinguishable. Most people can attribute their symptoms to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS),” Dr Divya Gopal, Internal Medicine Expert at Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, tells Health Shots. Here are reasons this disorder might be overlooked in India, along with some facts about it.

What are the 3 symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome?

Feeling extremely tired after enough rest and no improvement over time may indicate a medical problem, not just fatigue. This deep fatigue, known as chronic fatigue, lasts for more than 6 months and affects daily life.

1. The rest test: If you’ve been going through a tough period on weekdays, you can expect to feel rejuvenated after a few days of rest on the weekends. But if you have CFS, your body won’t show any significant change, even after a full day of rest. Patients have reported that although they sleep for 10 to 12 hours a night, they still feel exhausted.
2. Post-exertional malaise (PEM): This is one of the cardinal features of CFS. It entails experiencing a severe “crash” after performing minimal physical/mental activity. Even a trip to the market or a tense meeting can cause fatigue, muscle pain, and brain fog, leaving the patient bedridden for days.
3. Systemic problem, not a character deficiency: If resting does not restore your energy, there is more than lifestyle-related exhaustion at work. Rather, the brain and immune system have malfunctioned at the physiological level, and cells cannot produce energy properly. Calling patients “lazy” in this case would be both scientifically inaccurate and morally reprehensible.

Early diagnosis and care

1. Validation as initial treatment: It means looking patients in the eye and telling them you recognise their problem and believe in them and their experiences. You remove the burden of guilt from their shoulders.
2. Multidisciplinary model of care: At this point, no single treatment can guarantee a quick recovery from CFS, but we can make patients’ lives easier. For this purpose, the following steps must be taken.
3. Pacing therapy: Working with a physiotherapist or an occupational therapist and teaching patients to manage their “energy budget”.
4. Nutritional assistance: Consulting a clinical nutritionist could help recommend an anti-inflammatory diet and address any secondary gastrointestinal disorders that often coexist with CFS.
5. Psychological help: A psychologist is crucial, not due to some psychiatric component of this disease, but as people who deal with chronic illnesses often find themselves isolated and need strong coping mechanisms.
6. Medical relief of symptoms: As a doctor, I can prescribe medications to alleviate some symptoms of CFS, such as chronic neuralgia, sleep disorders, or dizziness (autonomic dysfunction).

Living in an increasingly hectic world does not mean we need to make our lives miserable. We must address the serious problem of fatigue rather than dismiss it as “burnout.”