Medical & Healthcare Meme's (Liz)

MEMES:

    I chose to make memes related to health and healthcare because it is a field I am familiar with. As a healthcare worker I see many shortcomings in the healthcare system and the way individuals and governments address health concerns. My first and second meme bring attention to the lack of acknowledging the many contributors to health. Health is not achieved by the mere prescription of medication and adherence to it. Achieving health and wellness, requires work done at the individual level, spiritually, emotionally, behaviorally, and at the community level in which environments, policies, and spaces are created to encourage health and wellness among members of a community. A quote that comes to mind is Bell Hooks in Understanding patriarchy when she states " Clearly we cannot dismantle a system as long as we engage in collective denial about it impact on our lives." This quote emphasized the collective responsibility we have to improve conditions so that all members of society will have a better chance at having a healthy life. The solutions to healthcare disparities and economic disparities are not only up to the individual. Instead a collective effort among different disciplines, members, and sectors of society must be made. 

    I also wanted to draw attention to a medical diagnosis of PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder)  because it is something I learned existed much later in life, and was affected by it for many years. It is a mood disorder triggered by the influx of hormones a few days before menses. I did not know it existed and wondered why I experienced so many of the emotions I did around this time, including those of anger, physical pain, depression, and isolation. Learning about this diagnosis brought it the forefront of my mind, helped me understand it, and not blame myself or those around me for the way I was feeling. It allowed me to take control and ownership of what was happening and helped me learn strategies to manage the symptoms it brought on. I decided to make it into a Drake meme because he is iconic and as John Berger states" Publicity remains credible because the truthfulness of publicity is judged, not by the real fulfillment of its promises, but by the relevance of its fantasies to those of the spectator buyer." I think having something as unglamorous as PMDD parallel to Drake will draw more attention and awareness to the issue. Doing this with more than just PMDD, maybe other medical diagnoses will hopefully bring awareness to those issues, making works of activism and political art.