Lightning Process Treatment for CFS/ME/PVFS

What they say about themselves :

The Lightning Process is a training program, typically lasting three days. It combines concepts from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching and Osteopathy. It claims to treat problems such as anxiety, stress, depression, guilt, low self esteem, ME/chronic fatigue syndrome.

The theory behind the technique is that the body and brain have become trapped in a number of damaging unconscious responses and that this results in a permanent state of sympathetic nervous activity.  The Lightning Process hypothosises that in ME/chronic fatigue syndrome:

• There is an initial event, such as a virus, chemical exposure or stress that caused the illness
• The illness is prolonged and the expected recovery does not happen.
• The patient’s symptoms, combined with a fear of non-recovery, creates more stress so that the body becomes locked into producing the hormones adrenaline, nor-adrenaline and cortisol.
• These hormones, in the long term, bring feelings of exhaustion, affect blood sugar levels, and suppress the immune system.
• The body is therefore “locked” in a loop.
• The Lightning Process claims to be able to unlock that loop and allow the body to recover.

Treatment

The patient attends a three-day training Program. The cost varies according to the trainer but starts from around £500. Further appointments may be recommended after the intial training programme is over. The key steps of the process include a series of body movements, postures and core questions which claim to stimulate new neurological pathways. Patients are asked to examine their own thoughts about their illness and how these can create either valuable or destructive thoughts about health or the future. It is in training the patient to address and deal with these destructive thoughts that the illness is treated.

The ME Association is not aware of any independent clinical trials to assess the efficacy of The Lightning Process. There is anecdotal evidence that some people diagnosed as having ME/chronic fatigue syndrome have improved but others who have attended the training course have reported that either they felt no improvement or relapsed.

The theory upon which The Lightning Process is based and its claim that the prolonged nature of the illness is caused by “the adrenaline, nor-adrenaline and cortisol loop” is not scientifically proven. We are unaware that patients enrolled in this program have those hormones measured before or after.

As in all such unproven treatments, The ME Association makes no recommendation and advises patients to make their own enquiries and discuss possible treatments with their medical adviser.