The Activist for Activists. Author of Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism and The Happy Activist: Journey the 5-Step Activism Path to Focus Your Passion and Change the World. Teacher, Psychologist, Environmental Activist, Animal Lover.
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Last Updated on October 23, 2024
The #MillionsMissing campaign highlights how diseases like Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) cause patients to go missing – missing from work, social events, and activism. ME Awareness Week is in May. It is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on a disease that until recently many doctors dismissed as “yuppie flu” or “laziness.” In fact, the other name of the disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, seems to reinforce the stigma. However, a recent scientific discovery could assist patients with diagnosis and treatment.
ME Biological Marker Finding May Change Diagnosis And Treatment
The discovery comes from Stanford biochemist Ron Davis, who was funded by ME advocacy groups. He was able to find a blood marker that only shows up in people with ME. Due to the disease, their cells must work much harder in response to stress. Since the current method of diagnosis is a checklist, this finding could mean a faster and more accepted conclusion. Although Davis’ study had a small sample size it is an encouraging new line of ME research. In a nutshell, we need more research and advocacy for ME. Consider a donation to MEAction.
Watch Unrest, a film by Jennifer Brea about the impact of ME on the lives of patients.
To learn more about ME and get involved, go to MEAction.net. From this website, you can follow several campaigns:
- The #BedFest campaign is beautiful and sad. ME patients display their art and music that they created from their bed.
- #BelieveMe is a campaign to raise awareness about the impact of ME and change the “it’s all in your head” stigma.
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A test would be a remarkable step in the right direction. I have fibromyalgia that sometimes behaves like ME. I understand the general practitioners are doing the best that they can, but so often they are grasping at straws.
It would be a remarkable step.I hope it leads to great things for all that suffer from ME and related diseases. My fingers are crossed that this leads to more research dollars. Thanks for stopping by.
I am glad to hear there is hope on the horizon for dealing with ME. It affects so many and is so debilitating for people. Thanks for shedding some light on this issue! # Pitstop
Agreed. I lost four years to what was then called chronic fatigue syndrome, and the diagnosis was so hazy that any number of people just thought I’d taken up a career as a victorian semi-invalid. I remember thinking at the time that kept changing the name because they couldn’t cure it and couldn’t really diagnose it with any certainty. It made everyone involved feel like progress was being made.
Hi, Michele. Thanks for stopping by. I was so dismayed when I learned more about the disease – the terrible symptoms, the ‘it’s all in your head’ attitude of the medical community, and the huge number of people afflicted. Perhaps this is the beginning of better diagnosis and treatment.
Hi Ellen. I’m so sorry you went through that ordeal. How frustrating that must have been to deal with doctors and friends that questioned whether you had a true disease. I hope this discovery leads to accurate diagnoses and a cure.
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