I&#x27;ve suffered with ME &#x2F; FM for 25 years and it&#x27;s my firm opinion there are no clean hands in this debate. Doctors, frustrated by an ability to find a conventional diagnosis and thus treatment for their patients, want to try to blame it on psychology. Sufferers, afraid of losing access to medication, or simply due to their own negative opinion of psychological conditions, insist vehemently that their ills have no relation to mental health at all.<p>Of course, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. ME &#x2F; CFS most certainly encourages depression in those who suffer from it (both physically and mentally), and depression leads to behaviour (such as spending daylight hours indoors, engaging in minimal activity, poor eating habits) that aggravate ME &#x2F; CFS symptoms and lead to a downward spiral. The best treatment currently available addresses both the physical symptoms and the mental fallout, and it&#x27;s my firm belief that therapy and CBT is integral to managing ME &#x2F; CFS, at the very least to allow sufferers the best quality of life they can have under the circumstances.