❤️🩹 my take on a PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) flag 🧠
clipart .png credit
i had been waiting from months to a year to see someone design a flag for PMDD since i'm not very confident in my own ability, so i decided to go ahead and bite the bullet with an attempt. this is currently planned to just be a draft and may be subject to change with new updated versions in the future.
TW FOR MEDICAL TRAUMA/ABUSE: although this topic is not very widely discussed, or at least doesn't seem to be commonly present, online among the disabled community, my personal experiences with PMDD have made acknowledging its existence as well as its consequences quite necessary to me. as of the time of writing this, i am 19 years old, and when i was 15 exactly this time of year (as well as the first similar incident a couple months prior), i had an intense hyper-emotional episode the week before my period that was so bad i ended up getting institutionalized at a psych ward against my will and have never been the same since. for years now, i've been on a birth control pill that suppresses my cyclical hormones and prevents my period from occurring most of the time.
before getting into the stripes' meanings, there are two factors to explain behind my thought process:
dark teal is considered to be the awareness color for this disorder, although i went with a light aqua color because i think it looks better with the pink, and it's in the same family so i believe it still works.
pink is meant not to represent femininity necessarily since uterus-owners can come in many different gender expressions, but rather fit with the vibe of internal organs, especially since pink is closely related to red which is how warm blood appears (and is a key element of uterine cycles).
as for the stripe meanings, here is my proposal for each single word:
awareness ─ suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a very real thing that happens to müllerian individuals everywhere. according to the cleaveland clinic, which i am an active visiting patient of, about 10% of people with our reproductive body types who are at least of minimum pubescent age may be affected by it. although it does not tend to be a risk toward physical health, it is often a deadly threat to our mental state and well-being, which can lead to suicidal ideation.
strength ─ i consider this to be an invisible disability, with most of the symptoms taking place within our internal worlds and fighting a constant battle with negative thoughts + emotions. in addition to this, physical symptoms also arise and can cause severe discomfort before menstruation even begins. all of this happens within the confines of our own homes, and we tend to suffer through it alone. people who do not have PMDD probably fail to realize how strong we have to be in order to get through this difficult time repeatedly & endlessly, despite their well-intended efforts.
diversity ─ this is intended to have multiple meanings, and to include anything i may not have come up with so far. for one thing, there are plenty of different experiences to be had with this disorder, such as varying levels of cramping + sickness or depression + anxiety. on another note, not only do our bodies each work differently (some may also have endometriosis and/or PCOS, which are also intersex conditions, as a double-whammy), but many of us do not conform to societal ideas of gender despite all having these parts in common. there are infinite possibilities to mix & match with presentation & identity, which is not limited by biology.
flesh ─ although many factors are involved in this process, including hormones, PMDD centers around the uterus, which is an internal organ. the flesh represents the physical aspects of this experience, and how we must take great care of our bodies in order to ease how we feel.
pain ─ there is so much physical + mental pain that builds around this disorder, which deserves to be recognized, sympathized with, and treated. the deep pink (to me) somewhat resembles what ibuprofen & benadryl pills look like; painkillers & antihistamines respectively (i'm not sure if anyone else needs the latter, but my skin's condition gets really reactive when i go through my cycle).
anyone is free to reblog/use accordingly, although you may have to be mindful of permission/credit with the uterus imagery from the source!
tagging for reach (it may not fit your gimmick exactly, so feel free to ignore if you're uninterested, or reblog somewhere else!): @idwl @satyrradio @spaghettimakesflags @obnebulant-mogai @caeliangel @intervex @arco-pluris @beyond-mogai-pride-flags @radiomogai @themogaidragon @neopronouns @mad-pride @disabilitypride
A flag for those who believe in dismantling ableism, this flag does not look away from any disorder and acts as a punk flag against terms like “faking” or “man child” (as used towards schizospect symptoms, especially mentally ill guys.). This is against the terms “trans trender” and other terms as it resolves around the language used against mentally ill, physically ill, and invisible disabilities. Obliged Queer people are not accepting of using slurs against disabled people.
For anyone not Queer or uncomfortable the alt label is Obliged Punk! (I understand not everyone who is disabled is Queer and that is ok as well so if you want to use the label but choose to not use the word Queer that is up to you.).
Yk i wish medical professionals could actually act fucking professional and understand that being in constant pain is not something that 'everyone has' or 'just growing pains'. I want them to recognise that I'm not just a whining kid who wants attention, or an unhealthy kid who just needs to exercise. It fucking pisses me off. I'm also pissed because I feel like my level of pain doesn't warrant any help compared to others. I know some people with chronic pain are bed bound 24/7 and because of fucking medical gaslighting I feel like I'm not worthy of a diagnosis because I'm not also stuck to bed forever. Like Im with my chronically ill friends who have to deal with such bad pain that they probably will never be able to leave their house and I feel for them, but just because I'm not 'as bad' as them doesn't mean I'm just a pussy bitch.
I been doing some thinking, about chronic illness and shit. I haven't gotten a diagnosis for anything yet, so I'm left to search for myself. I wonder if I might have fibromyalgia, Juvenile Arthritis or Pots. But recently, one of my friends caught COVID and it turned into long COVID. He has similar symptoms to me but not exactly the same. It's just making me theorise if potentially I have Long COVID, or if I had long COVID and it triggered the existence of something else.
The only thing is, I know that no medical professionals seem to take me seriously. Coming back to my point on my friend, In school, he has a newly adjusted timetable that allows him to only do half days, instead of a full six hours. I'm not sure if he is professionally diagnosed with Long COVID or not, but I really wish I was also able to have half days as sometimes, I just cannot go through with my day due to the pain I'm in or the fatigue I have. But I'm not diagnosed, which means I either have to have my parents backing me (and they are but they wouldn't back me so much as to allow me accomodations within school unless I'm diagnosed) ot get diagnosed which takes God knows how long. I don't want to seem like a lazy bitch because I literally don't even appear to be in pain to almost everyone, I mask it very well and I feel as though if i do try to get benefits in school without a diagnosis, i will be seen as a faker or just trying to skip school.
Luckily, my 8 week period of the exercises is nearly done, so I'll be able to tell my physio that it hasn't helped and has actually made me feel a bit worse and hopefully then I'll be closer to a diagnosis
Ok so, I've finally got dates for my various appointments, yippee ! Last appointment I had was with my physio maybe 4 months back amd ive been waiting for an orthopedics and pain management appointment ever since. Ive got the orthopedist in a week's time and an extra physio appointment a week after for follow up i think (I only found out today about the physio appointment). About a month after the physio I then have a pain clinic appointment which is what I'm most excited for as they deal mostly with patients suffering with chronic pain, like me, so I'm just hoping I can finally get a diagnosis even though Ik I should keep my hopes down.
Honestly, this is basically the only thing keeping me looking forward to living across this next month, I'm just just gonna keep wishing and praying that I can get things at least a little sorted in my life and that my appointment won't just consist of medical gaslighting as always
