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María Richardson

@diatoma.bsky.social
3.4K followers 3.4K following 555 posts

Ella/she/her. I write, I read, I draw plants. Chronically ill en la Ciudad de México. #ME #MECFS #POTS #LongCovid

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Reposted by María Richardson
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here's today's column on the astonishing, ongoing mistreatment of people with #ME/CFS. Please spread it far and wide: the only thing which can break the media's wall of indifference is seeing an article about the issue go viral. Thank you. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George Monbiot
Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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emily fraser 🌿🐌✨ @emilyesfraser.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’m only seeing people with ME or Long Covid sharing this. If you’re not affected, can you please read it & share? Ableist propaganda goes viral all the time, which encourages outlets to publish more of it. Can we please make the truth go viral instead?
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David Forbes @davidforbes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If it seemed like a major newspaper making some conflict at a random dyke bar a national news piece in a push to depict trans and higher-risk folks as inherently unreasonable was suspect af...well, it was. Y'all who were breathlessly sharing that story? You were just being played. Have some sense.
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Adam @abrokenbattery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Symptoms are “horrible” and severe cases are a “living nightmare.” @georgemonbiot.bsky.social speaks to @natashadevon.bsky.social on LBC about ME/CFS, its long history of being dismissed and psychologised, and the role of governments and insurers.
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emily fraser 🌿🐌✨ @emilyesfraser.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Just listened to this full interview & it’s fantastic. @georgemonbiot.bsky.social doesn’t mince words, reminding us the #GreatestMEdicalScandal of the century is not just about neglect, it’s abuse by the medical system & complicity from all of society. Full interview (9 mins): youtu.be/H2rRf_f2hJs
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Guilherme Nunes @guilhernunes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
capybara complimenting the alligator's hat
painting, in the Pantanal capybaras wear elegant hats and one of them compliments the hat of a very nice alligator
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María Richardson @diatoma.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
My hometown! What a glimmer!
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Richard Corsi @corsiaq.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Fun news story in Spanish about school children having fun building and decorating CR Boxes in Monterrey Mexico. Thanks to Marisa Jimenez de Segovia for the video.
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#MEAction Network @meactnet.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Positive updates! - We are closer than ever to getting the ME/CFS Research Roadmap funded. - The Office of the Surgeon General is ready to work with us. Take action: -Leave a public comment about Medicaid. - Join our advocacy working group. - Donate More info & links: ow.ly/gkv150Zs2gx
MEAction updates highlight progress on ME/CFS Research Roadmap funding and collaboration with the Surgeon General's Office and work to be done on Medicaid. Graphic with three red bubbles with text in each. Text at top: A week of wins and the fight continues! Text in bubbles: We are closer than ever to getting the ME/CFS Research Roadmap funded. The Office of the Surgeon General is ready to work with us. The fight for Medicaid protections continues. Take action today!
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emily fraser 🌿🐌✨ @emilyesfraser.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Tens of thousands of dollars of off-label meds & treatment experiments & I’m still mostly bedbound & too sick to work/socialize/do anything but exist & suffer for years on end. No research funding = no validated treatment = millions of young lives rotting away #MEAwarenessDay #GreatestMEdicalScandal
Me, a middle aged white women with dark hair, wearing a sparkly gold dress in a bathtub full of pill bottlesCrunchME chart titled “NIH research funding for ME/CFS is just 1% of what its disability burden warrants, with Long COVID also heavily underfunded at 14% of commensurate levels. The chart shows a slew of diseases organized by whether or not they’re funded at an appropriate level based on their disability burden with ME the least adequately funded of all & HIV/AIDS & Down Syndrome on the opposite end, funded at over 2000% of their disability burdens
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Sebastiaan Deetman @lymecfs.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
If you can, please join me in supporting Kate! Their story is eerily recognizable. Kate is super kind and knowledgeable. ✌️
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Danielle Beckman @daniellebeckman.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
🧠 What if #LongCovid is, in part, a disorder of dopamine? Our new commentary explores how disrupted dopamine signaling may help explain fatigue, brain fog, and autonomic dysfunction, and what this could mean for future therapies. Open access link: shorturl.at/vLAfU
Article at eBiomedicine: 
Dopaminergic vulnerability in long COVID: striatal PET imaging at the brain-body interface

Eric Guedja, Danielle Beckman
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María Richardson @diatoma.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Hoping folks like @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social @mehdirhasan.bsky.social @weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social @lastweektonight.com read this article and help us get more (adequate) coverage of LC IACC neuroimmune diseases 🙏🏻. #GreatestMEdicalScandal #JohnVsJonVsME
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Justine Barron @jewstein3000.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
NEW ARTICLE from me for @fairmediawatch.bsky.social. "Media Won't Stop Psychologizing Long Covid" An overview of this unfortunate propaganda trend in the media since 2020, including where it comes from and what it gets wrong. fair.org/home/media-w...
fair.org
Media Won’t Stop Psychologizing Long Covid
Media outlets that trumpet their journalistic integrity have used their prestige to launder an unproven, anti-science conspiracy theory about Long Covid.
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Astrid Meyer-Knutsen @astridmeyerknutsen.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Excellent article with lots of important history and context about #LongCovid and #ME/CFS in the media. A must read!
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#MEAction Network @meactnet.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Dr. Victoria Copeland wrote a statement for Casey Doherty to share at #MillionsMissing 2026. @vashetc.bsky.social shares their experience as a #pwME & preliminary findings on a research study she is conducting about rest, energy, and myalgic encephalomyelitis. More info: restandmecfs.com
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Laura Scott @pieinthe.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
There’s a history of these “psychiatric condition” assertions. Do any of these talking points sound familiar?
youtu.be
ME/CFS Scandal Explainer (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
YouTube video by Broken Battery
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Jason @jason23.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
If true, we may need some mouse psychologists as well. bsky.app/profile/eric...
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Querydash @querydash.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome community:
static.klipy.com
First Time Meme - The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
Alt: First Time Meme - The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, James Franco on a scaffold in a white button-down work shirt looking to his left and saying “first time?” to the unseen person beside him. He’s got a noose around his neck.
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Sarah Brodsky @sarahbrodsky.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
For something that we're not allowed to talk about, this viewpoint sure gets a lot of coverage in national publications.
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Something Chronic @somethingchronic.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Shame on you Wired. You need to understand the damage you are contributing to. We are dying and you can’t be bothered to research this correctly. bsky.app/profile/long...
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Julie for M.E./LC treatment 😷 @dualiejulie.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I wish I had the capacity to actually address this and I am so disappointed. Bias attempting to mascarade as nuance.
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Anil van der Zee @anilvanderzee.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Pity the author didn't review the negative studies in PAIS. Brain Retraining doesn't work. New preliminary data from the AIR trial is a good example. The effect is similar to natural recovery & fluctuations of the disease. Gupta scored even a bit worse than TAU. www.linkedin.com/posts/me-cfs...
linkedin.com
1) 🇪🇺 The controversial European project on Long Covid includes a randomized trial on amygdala retraining and online CBT. In a preliminary analysis, both fared no better than usual care. 2)… | ME/C...
1) 🇪🇺 The controversial European project on Long Covid includes a randomized trial on amygdala retraining and online CBT. In a preliminary analysis, both fared no better than usual care. 2) This is...
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COVID Chronicles @covidchronicles.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
That @wired.com hit piece on Long COVID was actually a masterclass in gaslighting. Name-drop the hard science, only to dismiss it. Make it sound like all sides of this "debate" have legitimate arguments. It's the Climate Hoax all over again. "Climate skeptics are afraid of activist backlash".
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It's ME(Jaime) @exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
ok the more I stare at the image of zero studies, the angrier I am. Wired, are you for real? Did you not check for a single study in a reputable journal, first? You're advertising snake oil to desperate people on what? a whim? I assumed a study had come out, at least, even if it was very poor.
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It's ME(Jaime) @exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
oh suuuure, this extremely well-evidenced treatment, just like vaccines-- oh, wait, uh, hang on-- I'm getting that there are no peer-reviewed studies on this with objective measures? none at ALL in this disease space?
PubMed with zero results for neurolinguistic programming and Long COVID. Yes, I tried other combos
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It's ME(Jaime) @exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Oh for God's sake. Thanks for promoting this pseudoscience I'm sure those who profit are extremely grateful they'll live to grift another day
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Long Covid Advocacy @longcovidadvoc.com · 02/06/2026
🧵OF KEY CONCERNS We've now read Alan Levinovitz's WIRED piece on Long Covid. Our concern isn't that it discusses psychological theories. Our concern is that it repeatedly conflates criticism of evidence with creating a "climate of fear". Those are not the same thing. /1
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Long Covid Advocacy @longcovidadvoc.com · 02/06/2026
Update: The email of the editor of the Alan Levinovitz Long Covid WIRED article whom letters and concerns can be directed to is available publicly here: jasonkehe.com 💌 jason_kehe@wired.com
jasonkehe.com
jaSon kehe
Visit the post for more.
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Long Covid Advocacy @longcovidadvoc.com · 02/06/2026
We have written to the editors @wired.com & requested: 🔹Editorial Review 🔹Apology 🔹Right of Reply 🔹Review to investigate whether the Levinovitz article meets WIRED standards for fair & evidence-based reporting in health & disability. 📨 Letters can be sent to: mail@wired.com
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Michiel @murtoz.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
#pwME #LongCovid Please take a minute to email wired's editors if you can. They can (and are!) quite easily ignore replies on their socials - but an exploding inbox is much harder to ignore. mail@wired.com
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Whitney Dafoe @whitneydafoe.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Imagine watching everything you care about in a house that starts to catch fire.  And there’s a firehose one meter from you, but you're tied to a chair and can’t move.  So you have to sit there and watch it all burn.  That is everyday, over and over again, living with #MECFS 💙
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James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The thing about ME/CFS patients is that it's definitionally difficult for them to advocate for themselves. They just... vanish from society. Which is why it's up to the rest of us to spread the word. To learn more or donate to research, some good orgs are: www.omf.ngo batemanhornecenter.org
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James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
With the arrival of Long COVID—a closely related condition—doctors are finally becoming more aware (and less dismissive) of ME/CFS. But there's still so little research, and very little effective treatment, despite a quality of life that can be—as I saw one doc call it—"akin to late-stage AIDS."
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James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
It's Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) day of awareness. For the last 8 years, my wife has been bedbound. She can't bathe, can't watch TV, can't get herself to the bathroom, often can't speak. There are MILLIONS of people with her condition—but you never hear about it.
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emily fraser 🌿🐌✨ @emilyesfraser.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
If you’re not affected by ME, I challenge you to look through the hashtags this #MEAwarenessDay & choose one post to share on behalf of the #MillionsMissing. We desperately need healthy allies to get angry for us & advocate for research & social support 💙 #MECFS #WorldMEDay #GreatestMEdicalScandal
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Donia ♾️ ♿️ @ethyricalartist.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Thank you for all you do, Adam. Using your own limited energy to create these videos is a gift to the world - not just the #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis community 💙 -signed, someone w/ #SevereME #pwme #medsky #GreatestMEdicalScandal #MEawarenessmonth #chronicillness #FrailandFurious #MillionsMissing
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Something Chronic @somethingchronic.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
@amnestyuk.bsky.social @jolyon.goodlawproject.org Successive governments worldwide have known for decades. UK government is complicit in the systematic abuse of #pwME Please help us, we need all the support we can get; we are too sick to fight for ourselves! #SevereME #GreatestMEdicalScandal
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Tom Kindlon @tomkindlon.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
A repository of selected ME/CFS and Long Covid documentaries & shorts. Plus some current affairs reports, art films and archival footage by @nessau.bsky.social skywriter.blue/@nessau.bsky... #MECFS #LongCovid #GreatestMEdicalScandal #MillionsMissing #May12th
Ness
Ness
May 12, 2026 at 2:22 PM GMT+1
🧵🧵 A repository of selected ME/CFS and Long Covid documentaries & shorts. Plus some current affairs reports, art films and archival footage

* Compiled over a few years from web searches

* Apologies for any links that have broken

#MECFS #LongCovid #GreatestMEdicalScandal #MillionsMissing #May12th

Content warnings: 
- some contain footage of people who are now deceased
- some discuss suicide and death
- may be harrowing to watch
- older ones reflect attitudes of the time
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Adam @abrokenbattery.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
“The injustice of it, I couldn’t believe it.” Former Team GB rower @oonaghcousins.bsky.social talking about the #MECFS “scandal” where patients were told they were deconditioned and needed Graded Exercise and CBT. It is the “opposite of what they needed” and that legacy still runs “super deep”.
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Liz Nevra A. @nlizaki.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Nevra's struggles to access basic services in Pakistan are compounded by her status as a victim of DV. Without continued funds, she risks being returned to DV.
Screenshot of an instagram post reading "Freedom is not free. Ask me, a DV ref*gee trying to access basic healthcare and shelter/safe housing. Freedom is not free. #MA #DV #MillionsMissing"
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Liz Nevra A. @nlizaki.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Freedom is not free- a poem by Nevra Please donate/share to help Nevra access lifesaving medical care and rental housing. paypal.me/SaveLizNevra gofundme.com/f/save-nevra #SaveLizNevra #MECFS #pwME #ChronicIllness #severeME
Text reads: "Freedom is not free I Shrieked
Freedom is not free
it is rented by the hour,
paid in small blue buttons
that say d.nate
or come back later.
Freedom is not free
it is data bundles and dying batteries,
a phone that flickers
between connection and silence,
between I’m still here
and disappearing.
Freedom is not free
it is mutual aid,
hands reaching across oceans
not because systems worked
but because they didn’t.""What does it cost
to stay alive one more day?
A meal.
A room without mould.
A signal strong enough
to hear a voice say
I’m with you.
Freedom is not free
it is water carried,
it is medicine rationed,
it is the quiet arithmetic
of survival:
if this much comes in,
I get to rest.
if it doesn’t,
I negotiate with pain.
Donations dry up
like taps in a city that forgets you.
But thirst doesn’t pause
for algorithms?""Freedom is not free
it is hugs translated through screens,
kisses buffered in pixels,
love held together
by strangers who choose
to care.
And still
we ask, again,
not because we want to
but because we must:
Help me stay.
Help me eat.
Help me breathe long enough
to reach something like freedom.
Because freedom
real freedom
is not a metaphor.
It is this:
food, water, safety""Because freedom
real freedom
is not a metaphor.
It is this:
food, water, safety,
a body that is allowed
to keep going.
And right now,
it costs more
than I can carry alone.

(C) Nevra Elis
#pwmE #severeme"
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Liz Nevra A. @nlizaki.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
💙🩵 Save Nevra - May Update 🩵💙 Please donate, share this post, engage in the comments! paypal.me/SaveLizNevra gofundme.com/f/save-nevra #SaveLizNevra #MECFS #SevereME #POTS #MillionsMissing
Save Nevra - May Update: Nevra is still severely reacting to mould and chemicals in her accommodation and is struggling to find a suitable and safe alternative living situation. Before she has a chance to recover from one exposure, she is being exposed to a methane gas leak in the bathroom, which has worsened her condition so severely that she is now reacting to almost everything, including shampoos and basic hygiene products. She is also reacting to many medicines and supplements prescribed by doctors, making stabilisation extremely difficult.
May goals: 1. $2015 USD/£1503 for rent - additional costs for 2nd room needed to safely isolated contaminated belongings, 2. $267/€200 for food, 3. $217/£159 for a carerNevra is repeatedly being forced to do more than she is physically able to with Very Severe
ME in order to get her basic needs met. Because there is very little local support, she is still injured and recovering from trying to demould and move her belongings herself during previous exposure incidents.
Due to ongoing reactions and unsafe conditions, she is still unable to safely demould and sort through all of her belongings, which means she still requires a second room to isolate contaminated items and reduce further deterioration.Nevra is exhausted, heartbroken, and overwhelmed. First she was forced to choose between homelessness and medical care.
Now she is being forced to choose between mould exposure and methane gas exposure, while trying to survive severe neurological and respiratory symptoms. She is frequently left choking and struggling to breathe even during important telehealth appointments.
Any support: donations, shares, or kind words are deeply appreciated.
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Liz Nevra A. @nlizaki.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Nevra urgently needs funds to pay for a hospital visit for heavy bleeding. If you can, please consider donating, and even if you can't do that, please share this post 🧡 paypal.me/SaveLizNevra gofundme.com/f/save-nevra #SaveLizNevra #MECFS #SevereME #POTS #MillionsMissing
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Katie Klocksin, by the wayside @katieklocksin.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
@rebeccasolnit.bsky.social ☝️ Really important area of medical misogyny to be aware of. Patients could use your broad-minded eye and pen on this issue. ❤️
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e. hashman @eha.sh · 17/05/2026
It's #BlueSunday2026! A day to fundraise for ME advocacy and the #MillionsMissing, and like every May, I will match your donations! For 3+ years I have been of this world but not in it, and this is my best hope of getting my old life back. For now, this is my day to day: hashman.ca/me-cfs/
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#MEAction Network @meactnet.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Gentle reminder that @eha.sh is kindly matching donations this May! #MillionsMissing #pwME
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valebodi.bsky.social @valebodi.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
This was published back in May 2020! #pwME sounded the ALARM about ignoring the grave & disabling consequences of post COVID-19 sequelae. #ME/CFS being the most serious and impactful one: www.washingtonpost.com/health/could... @brianvastag.mas.to.ap.brid.gy & our late Beth Mazur #LongCOVID #IACCs
washingtonpost.com
Perspective | Researchers warn covid-19 could cause debilitating long-term illness in some patients
The aftereffects of viral infections can be life-altering — we know this from personal experience — and unfortunately are devastatingly common.
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Kristin Houlihan, Writer @kristinwrites.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Celebrating Blue Sunday for #MECFS with a few of my kids. Sandwich and hot chocolate for me, cookies and sparkling water for them! Donated to the emergency department project @meactnet.bsky.social
Cut and wrapped sandwich on a paper plate with a tall purple mug that says “best mom ever”
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lizzie @dizzylizzie222.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
my mini tea party for blue sunday 🥰 vanilla chamomile lavender ginger tea w/ a cherry lemon doughnut cake i was going to wear my new blue dress but i had paralysis this morning so just getting this together was an accomplishment #bluesunday #meawareness #mecfs
BLUE SUNDAY The tea party for M.E. 17th May 2026
Wear something blue (pyjamas count!)
and/or
• Dig out your best cups and saucers and/or
• Bake or buy your favourite cake and/or
• Post a photo of your tea party set-up to social media and/or
• Invite others to enjoy tea and cake with you in-person, via video call, or by sharing photos and/or
• Donate the price you'd pay in a café to an M.E. charity and/or
• Connect with others online who are doing the same, by commenting on their posts
Do one, a few, or all, to show your support for the M.E. communitytea pot, milk, chamomile vanilla lavender ginger tea, and cherry lemon doughnut cake
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