LYME DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH

Awareness Month for Lyme Disease

May is one of the most important months of the year for Lymies, as it is the awareness month for Lyme disease. Although we do our best throughout the year to inform and educate people about this life-threatening illness, in May we do it in a more alert pace. That’s because the awareness campaigns move from the virtual world into the streets.

Share the awareness message!

You can do it at your own pace, on your own terms. There are many ways you can help raise awareness. You can distribute green ribbons and flyers, talk to people about what it entails to be a Lymie. You can tell your story to others or write a blog post about it.  Or choose to wear a Lyme awareness tee; you will certainly get more than couple of people asking you about it.

If your health allows it, join a 5K march or simply display some green light bulbs on your porch or balcony. Throughout these small little steps that we all take, a message is sent. It might not seem much, but when you look at it at a bigger scale, it does. More people become aware of the dangers of contracting Lyme and learn how to avoid getting bitten by ticks.

 

lyme disease awareness screwed by a tick

Educate people using humour!

Throughout the years I noticed  that the most effective way to attract people’s attention was to crack a joke about those nasty ticks that started all. Humour has always been an important tool for establishing a connection with someone. People tend to listen more to someone who makes them laugh then to one who complains.

Though when you use dark humour as part of the remission, chances are that people won’t get where you’re heading at and they might not like you. Luckily, some do! I am grateful to those who spare a few minutes of their time to listen to me.

As chronic illness sufferer, when you understand that your chance to recover depends on how strong your mind, you learn to cope with pain. You accept it and start working on the healing process. Thus your perspective changes. You slowly shift from complaining towards making fun of the situation. You develop a dark sense of humour that could be interpreted as cruel or inappropriate by others.

The fact that you dare to look at the ugly truth with your eyes wide open and make fun of it denotes strength. Humour can facilitate a more pleasurable approach to problems, as it enables you to reduce the somatic stress. Battling chronic illness with humour is one of the best weapons one can get! It’s a win-win as it is helping both body and mind. Laughter is a good medicine after all!

lyme disease awareness

How can you celebrate the Lyme awareness month?

You can start by educating yourself about this infamous illness. The Lyme Disease Awareness campaigns are open to everyone! Pass on your knowledge to your loved ones. Teach them how to prevent getting bitten by ticks, how to look for tick bites and what to watch out for as an early-stage symptoms. Remember that prevention is key, as there is no cure for Lyme, only remission!

Share more information about Lyme on your social media accounts. More and more people will learn about the dangers of getting infected with Borrelia Burgdorferi via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Medium, Reddit, etc.

Participate at a Lymewalk in your area to raise awareness and funds for Lyme research. All funds raised by the event will help Lyme Ontario continue research and education.

A Walk For Hope is the 4th annual 5km walk organized by Lyme Ontario. The event is taking place on May 25th in Beachway Park, Burlington ON. The registration fee is only $15! If you are living close by the area you should give it a try!