Under-diagnosed, mismanaged diseases

Written by: Amanda Henderson, January 12, 2018

"Five years ago, TED Fellow Jen Brea became progressively ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating illness that severely impairs normal activities and on bad days makes even the rustling of bed sheets unbearable. In this poignant talk, Brea describes the obstacles she's encountered in seeking treatment for her condition, whose root causes and physical effects we don't fully understand, as well as her mission to document through film the lives of patients that medicine struggles to treat." - video above, as described on YouTube

Jen Brea recently had a documentary of herself battling chronic fatigue syndrome released on PBS http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/unrest/ . She is bravely coming forward to bring chronic illness and its many facets to light in a world where doctors are quick to label patients as having conversion disorder, stating that illness is in your head and you require psychiatric care to heal. Doctors are also convinced that the patient is not doing enough to get better, and choose to remain ill rather than follow their prescribed methods. She also notes a link between being a woman and not receiving proper care and diagnosis for that simple fact- women are still easily dismissed.

My own story reflects much of the same process of doctor after doctor, struggle after struggle, years of disappointment and neglect from the medical community. Searching for answers and putting your body through impossible tasks to keep up with expectations of self and others is debilitating and disheartening. I'd love to help bring this to light - your enlightenment and sharing with others is invaluable to us.

Please help us, the chronically ill, under-diagnosed, and mismanaged fight for proper treatment by bringing awareness through knowledge. I invite you to learn, to acknowledge, and to change the course of history in this modern age of #millionsmissing.