This isn't new, but I've only recently found it and when I was looking for answers after my diagnosis, there wasn't any such commentary. Given how frequently ads pop up for this, plus word of mouth, I thought it would be useful to share this Buzzfeed article from December 2017 which claims to explain what has been going on behind this so-called cure of the 'Lightning Process':
I'm firmly in the camp that believes ME / CFS to be an organic disease, that is one that is within the body and not the mind. Whilst for some, there may have been a prolonged period of stress prior to getting sick and being diagnosed, improving one's life with the condition, isn't simply about managing psychological factors - it isn't an illness that you choose to do to yourself or perpetuate. It's a complex illness affecting many of the body's systems.
I think that the article is well worth a read. I've been approached by strangers who have told me that their teenage daughter was cured by this, but that 'she cannot talk about it, or what took place'.
The article explains how the treatment involves, among other things, participants jumping between four mats on the floor titled: 'STOP', 'CHOICE', 'THE LIFE YOU LOVE', 'THE PIT', whilst shouting an affirmation and the treatment being routed in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
Some other treatments I've seen online, talk about re-wiring the brain's autonomic nervous system (ANS) and I've started to regard such claims, which focus upon the body's stress response, with little other than mindfulness and relaxation to tackle it. as highly dubious.
Some questions I'd consider before going ahead with treatment from any practitioner (not limited to one mentioned above) are:
• Is the treatment recognised by any of the ME / CFS charities and leading authorities? - Have they stated doubts about the treatment's efficacy?
• Has the treatment made unrealistic claims to cure other illness e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis - does it seem like a cure all, snake oil?
• Are those who attend the treatment required to claim that they are cured? Are they prevented from discussing what takes place, or encouraged to disassociate from those who question it?
• Is it clear as to what the treatment consists of and is the pricing transparent, or do you have to enter a sales funnel or process (leading to a substantial bill for just a few hours, or weekend of treatment)?
• Are those who do not get better, nor gain any benefit, blamed and / or shamed, for not 'committing'?
I don't wish to put anyone off, trying to improve their situation but those with ME / CFS are a vulnerable group and there's no shortage of unlicensed and unsupervised practitioners offering a cure through their various programmes. I've written this post in good faith based upon what I have found.
Wishing you the best of health.
Written by
Antony_M
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Hi Antony_M I believe that you have to be relatively 'well' to do LP and so those who do it are more likely to get better anyway. With or without it. Hence why people think it can 'cure' ME. That's only my opinion. I've had ME for 23 years and have never once felt well enough to jump between four mats 🙃
That fits with my understanding too and the limited successes, seem to be a particular sub-set and / or were on the mend anyway. I've had ME / CFS for about 9-years, though diagnosis was drawn out until January 2016. I use a wheelchair or walking frame to get around, there might be occasions when I could do the four mat challenge (assuming it doesn't go on for very long), though it wouldn't be sustainable and wouldn't be indicative of anything. I'd post more often on here, but the last couple of years have been a complete blur and until recently, I was sleeping 18-hours a day after repeated coronavirus infections.
I'm sorry you've been so unwell over the last couple of years and hope you start to feel a little better soon. Take it steady. Don't forget to pace yourself.
I've heard negative things about Lightening before. It's interesting to hear it involves NLP and the mat thing. A friend who recovered from ME (but later developed fibromyalgia) lent us another NLP-based course which she thought might have helped her. It also involved a stepping on mats thing. I read through it with my daughter (who is the person in our family with CFS; I also have a chronic health condition that causes fatigue and various other symptoms including being prone to anxiety). My daughter wasn't prepared to try doing the course, which involved things like asking you to believe it was going to work before you tried it. You cannot manufacture belief if you're naturally an intellectual, rational kind of person. But what I did get out of the experience that stuck with me and was helpful was the explanation given in the course materials of how the stress response works, the idea that there's a brief window of opportunity after a panic is signalled for the conscious mind to cancel the fire alarm and say everything's ok, false alarm; and that not cancelling it may reinforce the tendency to panic in similar situations, while cancelling it may lessen it. I've found that useful in managing my own anxiety; when I feel a panic starting, and I think it's probably irrational, I try to work on flooding my mind with a repeated message about everything being ok right now, or with other positive messages about the current situation. It doesn't always work, so I have backup strategies for when it fails, but over time it seems to have helped a lot in reducing anxiety incidents.
So I would say that while Lightening and similar courses are unlikely to help anyone who has ME, and aren't worth spending money on, there may be some interesting NLP theory based on proper research, that I'd consider looking into in the future if I can get my own health issues a bit more sorted out so I have more energy to look into ideas for helping my daughter. And while I totally support my daughter's decision not to try the course we were lent, I would say to anyone who does wish to try these kinds of methods - we're all individuals. The course we read about was put together as a very specific set of instructions that were to be followed very precisely, and several parts of it were off-putting to my daughter.
As I tried to say to to her, these are someone's ideas of how to reprogram some of your mental responses based on NLP theory. But different people's minds work in different ways, so if the course is telling you to do something and it really doesn't feel right to you, maybe you can think of another way to achieve the underlying goal that works better for you, as long as you grasp the underlying theory the instructions are based on. You know your own mind, and the person who wrote the course didn't.
So if someone is not trying NLP methods because they think they can't do it because it involves jumping between mats - no, you just need to adapt the method. Think, what is jumping around this mat supposed to be doing? It's using your whole body to help make a mental connection between the ideas written on the mat. If you haven't got the energy to jump, get creative and think of a less energetic way to reinforce that mental connection, based on how your own mind and body works. Copy out the diagram in colours, trace the connection with one finger, sing it out loud, model it in clay, just imagine doing the jump inside your own head, whatever floats your boat. I'm not saying NLP methods work for ME; I've not seen any solid evidence they do, but it doesn't seem beyond the bounds of possibility they might be of some use if used appropriately.
Antonyms, thanks for sharing this, I was diagnosed with Lyme's disease in 2010 and since then i have been dealing with fatigue, I also have Polycystic kidney disease, I was also diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 had surgery and radiation treatment all while battling cfs, I used to be a singer, model and a makeup artist, now I could hardly get off my bed to take a shower! I love to exercise but I struggle walking to my kitchen, I love dancing but even that is not happening.
I seem to be getting worse, I now struggle to walk up the stairs to my apartment. It very tiring but life goes on.
Antony_M I read an article on the Lightning Process in the ME Assocation newsletter. Here is a link to it on their website - meassociation.org.uk/2021/0...
Similar to one of the previous comments, that it seems to potentially help with mental , pscyhological issues, but not ME which is a biological illness.
Hi! I have just been reading some of the latest on the ME Association website. It’s a very long read and I couldn’t read much in one go. It seems to be very much at the forefront at the moment because of Long Covid and similarities. I think the above sounds akin to throwing chicken bones in the air, reading tea leaves etc. I’m relatively new to ME/CFS but I find the thought of jumping from one mat to another (let alone another two) would put me in bed for a week. Got to go and have a 2nd Covid booster this morning so I hope everyone is getting theirs done. Covid has not gone anywhere. In fact, I just read that there are twice as many young children in hospital in Norway than last year. I know that’s a random fact but it’s going to take an increase in child cases for people to realise it’s still around (therefore more Long Covid in children and more studies done associating LC with ME/CFS). Bye for now. Nic 🙂
How very scary. It gives NLP a bad name too as it's used to great benefit in other spheres .As an ex licensed NLP practitioner I'm horrified by this way of using it and wouldn't reccomend it at all. Paul McEnna was one of my teachers I'm sure he'd be horrified too.
My CFS is certainly my body malfunctioning not my mind (except when I've utterly overdone it & too exhausted to think/make decisions.
I'm a great believer in Dr Sarah Myhill's approach & follow her recommendations on supplements based on her medical qualifications, research and experience.
I'm sorry I don't have experience of ME however, I imagine shouting & jumping would be extremely difficult. Peege
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