Pippa Stacey, Social Media Manager, ME Association.
Today marks the beginning of Invisible Illness Week 2019, a week dedicated to highlighting issues faced by people with less visible disabilities.
We know that for many, but not all, people with M.E, the symptoms and challenges they face on a daily basis are not easily seen by others.
Those mildly affected or who are experiencing a ‘good day’, may look like any other non-disabled person if they’re in public. However, in private, they’ll often be much more unwell and in need of assistance.
For those with more severe forms of the condition – who are more visibly unwell more of the time, confined to home or bed, who use disability aids, rely on carers or support workers, need help to move around or medical equipment – there seems less reason to doubt M.E. is visible.
Either way, many people will likely agree that the true nature of M.E. often goes unseen by those who are not directly affected by it.
Many people with the condition are excluded from education and employment. They are prevented from enjoying a typical social life, which can add to the isolation and prevent their struggles from being communicated with others.
We want to utilise Invisible Illness Week 2019 to help #MakeMEVisible, and we’re encouraging you to do the same. As well as sharing resources and conversation starters, we’d like you to tell us how you raise awareness and help to make M.E. visible.
Perhaps you write blog posts or poetry or use photography or other creative skills. Maybe you fundraise for charity or advocate to support the cause. Even things like using word of mouth to help educate others, supporting petitions and surveys, being a member of a charity, or engaging with social media posts etc., all contribute.
We’d love to see posts using the hashtag #MakeMEVisible.
Share extracts from your personal story and show how you’re helping make our invisible suffering more visible to wider society.
We’ll be sharing some of our favourites throughout the week!
We’ll also be asking for thoughts and ideas on how we can make M.E. more visible on a wider scale, too.
Your feedback is invaluable and may well help to shape the direction our advocacy takes in the future.
So, make sure you’re following the ME Association on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and please get involved. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
The ME Association
Real People. Real Disease. Real M.E.
We are a national charity working hard to make the UK a better place for people whose lives have been devastated by an often-misunderstood neurological disease.
If you would like to support our efforts and help ensure we can inform, support, advocate and invest in biomedical research, then please donate today.
Just click the image opposite and visit our JustGiving page for one-off donations, to establish a regular payment or to create your own fundraising event.
Or why not join the ME Association as a member and be part of our growing community? For a monthly (or annual) subscription you will also receive our exclusive ME Essential magazine.
ME Association Registered Charity Number 801279