May 12th is International CFS Awareness Day: What You Can Do

Each year, May 12th is designated as International CFS Awareness Day.  So far this year I have not seen anything talking about CFS Awareness yet so I’m not sure what’s going on there.

Even though May is not here yet, I wanted to post some ideas of things that us CFS patients can do to help raise awareness for these illnesses.

I did my part to raise awareness last year by sending letters out to all of the local newspapers and the surrounding areas with my story as a press release.  I only received one call but I was interviewed and my story was published.

Just by doing one small thing you can help raise awareness and it is hard to say how many people you will touch with your story or with the story of someone you know.

This year I am sending a letter to the local radio station to see if I can appear on the morning show to talk about CFS & Fibromyalgia.  That will be one of my contributions this year.

There are many other things that you or a CFS support group can do to help raise awareness, thanks to the CFIDS Association.  Their Grassroots Center has some ideas that I would like to share with you:

• Support groups can designate one person for the Grassroots Action Center Listserv (GAC) program to receive the latest advocacy information on CFS and share it with other group members.
• Either have your support group or several other people you know with CFS send an advocacy letter to your state’s two senators and Congress representative.
• Don’t forget to include the CFIDS Fact Sheet.
• Contact your local radio stations, newspapers, television stations, and magazines about CFS.
• Try to educate at least three people about CFS and the impact it has on daily living.
• Create a simple public service announcement (PSA) and send it to local publications and radio stations. You may be able to find a local graphic designer willing to creatively format your text at no charge.  The CFIDS Association can provide you with sample PSAs.
• Distribute fact sheets or brochures on CFS to local libraries, pharmacies, grocery stores, churches, health food stores, and medical facilities.
• Give presentations on CFS to local women’s groups, church groups, civic groups and schools.
• Ask health care providers to display information about CFIDS. Don’t forget other health care professionals such as your dentist, optometrist and massage therapist.

What is so great about the ideas shared above is that these can be done anytime of the year, not just during May!  Let’s all pull together and see how we can raise awareness for CFS this year!

This post was included as part of the April Pain Blog Carnival on How to Cope with Pain. The April Pain-Blog Carnival is now posted at How to Cope with Pain, featuring the month’s best posts.