'Chronic Illness Memes' Instagram Uses Animated Characters to Describe Chronic Illness
We all know that watching Disney or other animated movies can be a great way to lift your spirits on a tough day with chronic illness. And as the Instagram account @ChronicIllnessMemes shows, those characters can also be surprisingly perfect at representing what it’s like to be chronically ill.
The account was created in 2015 by Kelly Patricia, a 26-year-old from Florida who lives with several chronic conditions, including endometriosis, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. She told The Mighty that her goal is to help others with chronic illness feel less alone and bring joy to their days.
“Since I know how stressful life with chronic illness can be, I wanted to do something that would make people laugh and possibly even make them forget about their pain for just a moment. Laughter is truly the best medicine; it’s free and has no bad side effects!” Patricia said.
Patricia said she gets inspiration for her memes from how she’s feeling, or how someone around her who has chronic illnesses is feeling. Then, she’ll write up a relatable quote and search for a popular animated character that has the emotion or reaction she’s looking for to match it.
“I feel like [animated characters] are friendly for all viewers (no matter what age they are),” she said. “Plus, animated characters have so much emotion and personality that it’s almost impossible not to relate to them!”
In addition to @ChronicIllnessMemes, Patricia also blogs and runs a YouTube channel to spread awareness of illnesses and encouragement to those who are struggling. She said everyone seems to relate to one meme or another.
“It truly shows how the little things really do make a big difference!” she said.
Scroll through for more memes or check out @ChronicIllnessMemes on Instagram.
Erin is the former senior editor and chronic illness editor of The Mighty. She joined The Mighty in 2015 and previously worked at Inside Weddings magazine, Mic, and The Huffington Post. She was also the features editor at The California Aggie, UC Davis' student newspaper. She is honored to be a part of the Mighty community!
erin-migdol