Brigitte, a widely read mainstream magazine with a large circulation in German-speaking countries, has just published a special edition about ME/CFS. It’s great! The researchers and journalists have interviewed doctors, patients, (and doctors who are ALSO patients), psychologists, biomedical scientists and more.
The well-informed articles avoid a superficial approach and don’t flinch from delving into the history of how people with the condition have been treated. And, often, are still being treated.
How to read it in English
If you have Google chrome browser on your computer it will have ‘google translate’ installed by default. You can find the icon here (highlighted by arrow):
If you click on that little icon you can choose what language to have the page translate into from pull down options. Then simply toggle the two languages: the one surrounded by the blue box is the one the page will display in. In this case the browser automatically spotted the page was in German and offered to translate it into English, but you can choose other languages.
As you can see, above, the text has automatically changed on the whole page. It’s not a perfect translation but it’s pretty good. The text is readable and makes sense. If it doesn’t load the translated text right away you should be shown a ‘try again’ button (usually it just means you clicked to translate before the page was fully loaded).
For tips and instructions on how to use this feature on different devices see Google’s help page on the topic.
Special Edition
The introduction describes the motivation for this special edition:
A Life in Darkness
In Germany, approximately 650,000 people suffer from ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome). This neuroimmunological disease affects women three times more often than men. Despite rising case numbers, many aspects of the illness remain shrouded in mystery. This includes patients who suffer from numerous neurological, immunological, and cognitive symptoms, as well as severe exhaustion, making participation in society nearly impossible in severe cases. 2026 was declared the Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases. What is it like to live with an illness for which there is currently no cure? Why has ME/CFS often been misunderstood as psychosomatic? And what research offers hope? BRIGITTE spoke with those affected, their families, and experts to shed light on the illness.
Articles in the special edition
“The will is there. But the body says no.”
Margarete Stokowski, a well-known political columnist for news magazine Der Spiegel, writes about her experience of developing ME/CFS after Covid – explores the impact it has on her life and career, and her search for support and answers
“All general practitioners should know the basics of ME/CFS”
Eva Carolin Keller interviews Professor Uta Behrends. Excellent overview of current research, need for training/education, issues around stigma and more…
“These people want to live. But at some point, they can no longer.”
Andrea Berning interviews psychologist and advocate Dr Bettina Grande. Interview covers false psychologisation, stigma, the issues around ‘rehab’ approaches (in general and as this issue plays out in the German health system), the distress and despair patients are left in due to psychologisation compounding an already difficult-to-bear incurable illness.
This is what makes the insidious illness ME/CFS so special [‘peculiar’ or ‘unique’ might be better translations]
Eva Carolin Keller interviews Long Covid Germany Initiative.
Covers potential triggers/causes, symptoms, Post Exertional Malaise, treatments, and much more.
Four people affected by ME/CFS share how their lives have changed
In Germany, the number of people affected by ME/CFS has doubled from approximately 250,000 to 500,000 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four patients describe to Brigitte what it feels like when life passes them by. Interviews by Eva Carolin Keller.
“As a medical professional, I was always taken seriously.”
Andrea Berning interviews Mirja, a child and adolescent Psychiatrist who has ME/CFS, about her experiences. She only has four hours a day that she doesn’t have to spend lying in bed. Mirja, a doctor suffering from ME/CFS, gives us one of these precious hours to tell her story.
“The word that best describes the lives of those of us affected is ‘undignified'”
Susanne Arndt interviews Svenja, an entrepreneur who developed MECFS after a Covid vaccination.
You sit there and say to yourself: “Oh my God, this could have been discovered ten years earlier!”
Susanne Arndt interviews Michaela, a 67 year old MECFS patient who has suffered from ME/CFS for many years and considers herself to be “moderately affected”. She can no longer work in her profession, but volunteers daily at the social helpline of the association “Fatigatio”. Here she talks about the problems sufferers face.
“I have a lot of anger inside me”
Susanne Arndt interviews 26 year old student, Alice, about her life with ME/CFS. She lies in a darkened bedroom almost around the clock. Interview explores what makes her angry – and what gives her strength despite everything.
“Yourself, every touch, every word is too much”
Susanne Arndt interviews Hannes about the impact of his partner’s ME/CFS on their family life: Hannes and his wife Anne (both 39) have two children; their eldest (22) is Anne’s from a previous relationship. A year after the birth of their daughter, Anne became seriously ill with ME/CFS. Here, Hannes tells us what the illness is doing to the family.
Older articles
Further articles from historical coverage of this topic appear further down the page, including a report about Karl Lauterbach, politician and former German health minister, who led the successful campaign to earmark 500M Euros of funding for research into post-infectious illnesses.
Thanks for the image at the top of this page – by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
