REAL PEOPLE
REAL ME

What is the Real ME Campaign?

We want people to know that this life-changing condition is indiscriminate and is diagnosed in men, women, and children of all ages and ethnicities. ME/CFS can affect individuals differently and many experience a myriad of debilitating symptoms that can fluctuate erratically in relation to any mental or physical activity. This often means that people succumb to periods of worsening symptoms that can last for an inordinate amount of time. 

“We want to tell the world about the Real People that suffer because of this Real Disease – day after day, week after week, year after year, and in some of the cruellest cases, decade after painful decade…” 

Neil Riley, Chairman, ME Association. 

How can I get involved?

1. TAKE A SELFIE

Take an image of yourself

2. WRITE A MESSAGE

Provide a short summary of your experience with ME/CFS or focus on a particular aspect

3. SEND IT TO US

Fill in the form below and send it to us

What is your name? *

Why do we need this? We will keep this anonymous, however we need your full name for consent purposes.

What is your email address? *

We will keep this confidential as part of data protection, however as part of GDPR rules we need you to consent, and we will keep this contact email address on file in association with permission to use your photograph/s.

Tick if you wish to be added to the ME Association E-Newsletter

• Add me to the Newsletter

Have you read and understood the information on the website? *

• Yes

Please read and agree to the following before submitting your photos.

I agree to give the ME Association permission to use my photograph/s on social media, on the ME Association website, on our literature and/or in the members’ magazine ME Essential. I understand that my details and photographs will be kept in a database. *

• I agree

I know that I can request the photo be removed from the database, however I understand that the previous use of the images may not be able to be removed. This is because mages used on social media can be are shared and once followers do so, we are unable to access the share to their private profile. *

• I agree

If you are happy to take part, to show the reality of this life-changing condition is indiscriminate and is diagnosed in men, women, and children of all ages and ethnicities.

Add any comments you wish to accompany your images

Please attach Photos here *

Click or drag files to this area to upload.You can upload up to 3 files.

If you are happy to take part, to show the reality of this life-changing condition is indiscriminate and is diagnosed in men, women, and children of all ages and ethnicities.

SEND TO MEA ASSOCIATION

The response so far

The ME Association has been delighted with the amazing response and support that The Real M.E. campaign has received. We have amassed a library of over 500 images since we launched the campaign back in 2018. 

We know the importance of accurately representing the community and we will now be displaying a range of new images on the website in galleries. Visitors will see how ME/CFS can affect people from all walks of life and read a quote describing the impact this awful disease has had on them.  

We will continue to use to use Real M.E. images in our literature, social media, awareness campaigns and in ME Essential and ME Medical magazines, and we will encourage the news-media to use Real M.E. images wherever possible instead of relying on the often unrepresentative ‘stock images'.