New sensation-suppression theory aims to provide hope for people with fibromyalgia and ME/CFS

by Alan Williams, University of Plymouth

Fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are debilitating conditions, and patients can feel misunderstood and abandoned, in addition to experiencing a wide range of physical and mental symptoms. Several psychological and biological theories have been proposed to explain why the conditions occur, but there is no agreement on whether any one theory is true.

Now Emeritus Professor Professor Michael Hyland, from the University of Plymouth’s School of Psychology, has suggested a new explanation—sensation-suppression theory. In his article published in the journal Exploration of Neuroprotective Therapy, he says it incorporates ideas from biology, psychology and artificial intelligence, adding that although the theory is complex, the basic idea is simple: If you don’t listen to what your body is telling you, your body shouts louder.

The essence of it is that people are prevented from listening to their bodies because of work, caregiving and other obligations that require them to keep going despite their bodies telling them to stop. His hope is that by enabling patients to better understand their condition and work out for themselves how best to recover, the theory will unlock a process of discovery and recovery.

“Despite years of searching, we have not found a satisfactory explanation for these life-altering illnesses, and a radical change is needed if we are to find a solution. This theory shows how pacing, done in the right way and under the right circumstances, can lead to a very gradual recovery. In addition, by recognizing the early signs, it is possible to prevent the illness by changing to a lifestyle that is kinder to the body,” says Hyland.

A theory borne of personal experience

Hyland was a successful health psychologist with a busy lifestyle, attending numerous conferences and meetings, when he developed ME/CFS in 1998. He knew that it was likely to pose a number of challenges to his life and career, but he also believed that the cognitive explanation provided by psychologists was wrong.

By observing his own behavior, he began to gain insight into what was happening to his body, and by applying this insight, he was able to recover very slowly over the following eight years.

He published this initial insight in a book in 2011, and a hospital consultant at Plymouth specializing in fibromyalgia read the book—together they developed Body Reprogramming, a course provided by the NHS for people with fibromyalgia.

However, these early insights were not developed into a full theory, and it was only when Hyland retired that he had the time to develop those initial ideas into the fully developed theory that has just been published.

He spent two years trying to work out the details of the mechanism, finding and reviewing existing data that supported the theory, as well as checking that no data were inconsistent with the theory.

He says the theory provides an entirely new way of thinking about lifestyle medicine and demonstrates that the body adapts to lifestyle in a more complex way than previously thought.

More information

Michael E. Hyland, Sensation-suppression theory: a new explanation for fibromyalgia syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Exploration of Neuroprotective Therapy (2026). DOI: 10.37349/ent.2026.1004152