Graded Exercise Therapy For M.E. - Min's Bad Experiences

by Min
(Somerset, UK)

I tried Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) several years ago, to help treat my Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.)

Graded Exercise Therapy made me a lot worse (physically and mentally). It also made me feel guilty because I was not improving with it.

Graded Exercise Therapy was presented to me by a senior psychiatrist as the means of getting better. But in my sessions, it felt as though I was being bullied and treated like a naughty child. It seemed that my therapist could not understand that there was no way I could concentrate for an hour at a time, after travelling to her clinic.

I don't believe that my therapist had any knowledge of M.E. She repeatedly said that I was to do the exercises no matter how much pain I was in (I also have Fibromyalgia). And one of her exercises was to walk up a steep slope each day. This usually left me unable to do anything else for several days, including doing anything for my young family.

Eventually I made the decision to stop going to see her, and to stop her ridiculous exercise regime before it left me totally bedbound. Now I do gentle stretching exercises each day.