Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is recommended for some Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients as an effective tool to manage fatigue, stress levels and pain. Many patients affected by CFS, a chronic illness, feel helpless as symptoms of the disease are difficult to control, curb, and cure. CBT offers patients strategies tand techniques for thinking differently about the illness and managing the disease, thereby significantly relieving stress, which is known to aggravate symptoms.
A typical CBT treatment lasts 6-20 sessions, each an hour long. Strategies include having the patients keep diaries to track energy levels and stress factors. Using the diaries, patients can then adjust their schedules to coincide with their energy highs and lows, thus allowing patients to maintain the productivity of their everyday lives.
Patients are also taught, among other things, to be flexible with their schedule, prioritize their tasks and set limits on activity to control stress and fatigue.