Mind-body In Long Covid and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Study (MILES)

Participation Requirements

• Sex:

  Any

• Eligible Ages:

  18 to 85

Participation Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:
1) Age 18 years or older;
2) Individuals diagnosed with ME/CFS, according to the Institute of Medicine (2015) criteria, for more than six months.
Exclusion Criteria:
Individuals who: 1) are too ill to participate; 2) lack reliable internet; 3) cannot communicate in English; 4) Presently have or ever had inflammatory bowel disease; and/or 5) Have been prescribed or used an oral or systemic (infusion) antibiotic in the past one month; 6) are participating in a concurrent study; 7) are participating in a concurrent mind-body intervention during the study period including:
Art Therapy, Autogenic training, Biofeedback/neurofeedback, Breathing exercise, Cognitive restructuring, Dynamic Neural Retraining System, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), Guided imagery, Hypnotherapy/self-hypnosis, Meditation (mindfulness, mantra, guided, transcendental), Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Music therapy, Neurolinguistic programming, Psychological flexibility, Qigong, Relaxation therapy (relaxation response, progressive muscle relaxation), Tai Chi, Visualization, Yoga
and/or starting any other new treatment during the study period, including any mind-body therapy, psychotherapy, prescription medication, over-the-counter medication, etc; 8) have any active medical condition (untreated/uncontrolled) that may explain the presence of fatigue including:
Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, Cancer excluding basal cell carcinoma of the skin (current).
Rheumatoid arthritis, Other serious rheumatic disease, such as lupus or polymyositis (but not fibromyalgia or osteoarthritis), Heart disease, such as heart failure, Severe COPD or other severe ongoing respiratory disease, Severe anemia or iron overload syndrome, Kidney failure, Diabetes
Addison's or Cushing's disease (poor or excessive functioning of the adrenal glands), Any of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, anorexia or bulimia, Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Parkinson's Disease (PD), Myasthenia Gravis (MG) or other serious neurological disease (except for ME/CFS), Sleep apnea/ narcolepsy, Hepatitis, tuberculosis, or other current chronic infection.
Excessive consumption of alcohol or recreational drugs, Liver failure or cirrhosis, Any other serious illness (except for ME/CFS, fibromyalgia or post-viral fatigue syndrome) that explains symptoms of tiredness, weariness or fatigue.