Yuppie Flu: Why does M.E Affect High Acheivers?
Yuppie Flu: Why does M.E affect high achievers? ‘I was such a high achiever before I became unwell’. I have heard this statement in many patient testimonials since I began reading about M.E CFS over a decade ago. As a high achiever living with the chronic illness myself, I wonder whether M.E really does affect high achievers more frequently? I’m not the first person to ask this question. M.E was known as yuppie flu in the 1980s because it was believed to be a disease of young, high achieving, burnt out professionals. In this essay I shall address questions such as ‘what is a high achiever?’ ‘when might M.E affect more doctors than patients?’ and ‘is the yuppie flu stereotype true after all?’ Firstly, some background. M.E/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome) is a chronic illness classified by the World Health Organisation as a disorder of the nervous system (“Chronic fatigue syndrome,” n.d.) . Blacks medical dictionary 43 rd edition defines ME as having a combi