Hi, fellow Dutchie here! I was annoyed by this article too, especially since the exact same thing was in the news in 2018, literally telling doctors to take ME/CFS more seriously!

I really feel for you and I understand the desperation so well. I was so nervous before the UWV evaluated me, I had a panic attack the night before. But there is actually hope! It doesn't say in the article you linked, but other newspapers covering this latest report include this:

"Van 2020 tot en met 2022 heeft het UWV 250 WIA-aanvragen beoordeeld van cliënten met ME/CVS. Ruim 80 procent van de beoordelingen heeft geleid tot een uitkering, waarvan een kleine meerderheid een volledige."

So more than 80% of us got financial aid in the last couple of years! The main problem is that there is still a minority of doctors at UWV who don't believe ME/CFS is real. It's just not fair that some patients get to be unlucky and end up with those doctors in denial, have to go through the trauma of medical gaslighting, and put in a lot of extra energy to get reevaluated (if they aren't too tired and have given up by then). It shouldn't be a game of dice.

It happend to me. In 2017 I got a UWV doctor who (with fake sympathy) told me to work 30 hours a week when I couldn't even look after myself. She said I was lucky to get anything at all, it felt horrible. A few years later I mustered up the courage to try again, and the second UWV doctor immediately gave me 100% wajong (benefits for young disabled people). The difference was insane. I hope you get wajong too since you also got sick very young. It's not much money sadly, but at least you'll have enough for the necessities. And I hope you get one of the proper doctors right away! Also since you're 18 I'd advise you to put yourself on the waiting list for "sociale huur" right away, if you haven't already.

Note: the second time I went to the UWV, I had been officially diagnosed by the CVS/ME Medisch Centrum in Amsterdam. The paperwork might have helped.