My LP story is similar to many of the stories shared here. Similar as in being “approved” for the course, first by form and then by telephone. The execution of the course itself as well, with success stories, practising the ritual, with STOP, choosing a life you want, visualisation etc.

I have been sick with ME and fibromyalgia since my early teens (the 1980’s). All the doctors said I was healthy, so I learned early to ignore the body and signals from it that I was sick. I learned a technique were I just carried on even if the body didn’t function, and found that if I did that, I would after a while function and get a lot done. I perfected the push/crash method and lived like this for many years. A roller coaster of adrenaline rush and complete bodily collapse.

It wasn’t until 2006 that I was diagnosed with ME (medical assessment at St. Olav’s Hospital) and fibromyalgia. I had barely heard of fibromyalgia before, but ME was completely new to me. During 2007, after several years with sick leave and reduced work percentage, I was on 100% sick leave, and later on disability benefits. As an active and social person I was convinced that exercise, weight loss and doing social, fun things would make me well again. I’ve lost count of how many times I have tried to exercise to get better. Both with and without professional help.

In 2009 I came across an article about LP. I had done some yoga and was familiar with meditation and visualisation from before. I had some experience with NLP, mindfulness and had read about neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to physically change. Training the brain to create new pathways is a real thing. New connections between brain cells and nerves. For instance, how people improve after a stroke by training.

I thought that there might be something in this, so I signed up for a course and thought that this is probably serious. The price of 15 000 NOK also had to indicate that this was a thorough and serious scheme. I was probably a perfect participant. I was determined to do this properly. I got great results immediately. Felt very good and “made healthy” instead of “making sick”.

In retrospect, I see very well what happened. I simply jumped into my adrenaline rush method. I was an expert in it, without being aware that it was actually adrenaline I was running my body on. I continued with the process and the ritual, methodical and frequent, as we were told to. Month after month. I completely ignored that the body actually crashed all the time. I collapsed into bed every night, into what I call a “coma sleep”. Sleeping heavily, but without rest and restitution. I woke up exhausted and in pain, but just carried on and did the LP method! STOP! – choose the life I love!

After a year I was no better, but sicker than ever.

I was asked in an email from the instructor if I had got the life I loved, and had to admit that no, I’m still ill. Then I was offered to join a follow-up course. I wasn’t ready to give up, so I signed up for the refresher course. I thought there must be something I’m not doing quite right, a key I haven’t found. At the refresher course, which cost an additional 3 500 NOK, I sat as a spectator behind the course participants. After this weekend, it became very clear to me that I had not lacked a key or made the process wrong in any way.

This doesn’t cure ME or fibromyalgia. I won’t speculate on whether it can have a positive effect on other conditions, but curing diseases? No.
If you for instance have rheumatism, the body won’t stop making inflammation in the joints after learning a “stop-see-change” method as LP is.

I was the “perfect”, highly motivated participant, but still got much worse in the long run, as a result of the course and the method. On the last day of the course we had to sign a document, a self-declaration that the course had made us recovered. Since the LP method itself is about saying out loud to oneself and others that one is recovered, I signed that yes, I was recovered. Had I not done so, I would have technically “failed” the course and not used the method correctly.

In other words this means that I today am still counted among the “recovered” group, even if I certainly didn’t, and still am not. It bothers me, because it most likely helps to influence the “recovery statistic” the course refers to.

Today I’m still severely ill, and mostly housebound. Until we find the answer to the ME puzzle, and eventually can offer a real treatment, rest and pacing are the only things that give me a fairly stable everyday life.