The present lock-down situation has been difficult on everyone, old and young alike, men and women alike. Really – men and women alike?
Women across all ages and social status are undergoing a lot of stress during the lock-down. Most of the states have reported a spurt in domestic violence cases in the last couple of months. This has been mostly attributed to financial problems, apprehensions about future, job insecurities, etc. faced by families resulting in an outbreak of stress, the burnt of which has to be faced by the woman in the family in the form of violence. Another very common way of venting out stress by husbands has been sexual overdrive – be it with or without consent, which is naturally very traumatizing for the wife.
Many women of present times are efficient, managing office and home effectively. However, the regular routine prior to the pandemic, would seldom include doing both the same time. In usual scenarios, home and office work are clearly segregated into different time frames. But now, that is not the case. The clear expectation from others and from yourself is to be able to manage everything together – be it household chores, husband, in-laws, kids, meetings, phone calls, emails and work. But is it taking a toll on women physically and emotionally? of course!
For most women, looking good is not just about physical appearance. It is also a confidence booster. Having to hear how unkempt you are looking these days, or how you have suddenly gained weight makes one feel low. Taking that time out for yourself, be it a visit to the salon, a quick gym session or just some quality grooming time for yourself at home is a big stress buster. It is something that makes you love yourself. As materialistic as it may sound, not getting that “me” time amidst all the chaos around you, sure adds to the frustration.
We are all used to getting a lot of funny messages, jokes and posts on social media regarding the woes of a husband during lock-down – the dishes he needs to wash, the cleaning up he needs to do. Even, women tend to sympathize with the men on seeing such posts. But do we take a minute out to think that this is what a woman does on a regular basis? So, sympathizing with men is quite fine – as this is a completely unfamiliar territory for them, but be sure to appreciate the woman who does all this and in fact much more all along, without getting any acknowledgement at all.
Here’s hoping that these tough times end soon. And till then the hope remains that women get a little more support, a little more understanding, a little more appreciation and a little more love from everyone around coz – a happy woman sure can spread cheer and positivity all around her that will help everyone get through these testing times.
Infano is a platform that aims to impact every facet of a woman's life - health, career, motherhood, lifestyle, and much more. We are a team of like-minded individuals who wish to be a support to women from all walks of life and in everything they do. Our aim, through our posts and articles, is to bring to light the issues and problems that women face in their day-to-day life, to try and make their life a little easier and a little better, provide the latest news updates of women around the world, and to highlight their big and small achievements. We celebrate womanhood each and every day.
While celebrity and stardom may look all glitzy and glamorous to the outside world, little do we realise that even celebs and famous personalities are after all vulnerable humans like us and are fighting their own battles. While some fall sick and quickly recover, many illnesses are fatal, chronic, and invisible with pain being one of the long term issues that can hinder every minute of your existence. While looking beautiful and happy on the outside, here are 10 lady celebs who have not had it easy and have battled with chronic pain disorders in their life.
Padma Lakshmi
Endometriosis
The Emmy-nominated host of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi, now 48, suffers from endometriosis. Padma told in an interview to a magazine in April 2009 that she found out in a very hard, difficult way–and had to be operated on. In endometriosis, during each menstrual cycle, tissue builds up, breaks down, and bleeds, leading to very painful menstrual cramps, chronic lower back and pelvic pain, painful sex, bleeding, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and nausea. What started as cramps at age 13 for her, got worse over time. For more than two decades, Lakshmi had struggled to manage the chronic pain that arrived with her periods.She is now an advocate on women’s health and works to destigmatize the topic of menstruation.
Sonali Bendre
Metastatic Cancer
Sonali Bendre was been diagnosed with metastatic cancer also known as high-grade cancer where cancer cells spread to the rest of the body through the circulatory or lymphatic system. Sonali Bendre revealed that she was suffering from continuous pain in her body which led to her getting tested in the first place, and that was how she found out about the disease.
”As women we are thought to bear the pain as a part of our life and so we don’t take our aches and pains seriously and that is what made me delay my diagnosis,” she said in a TV interview. She underwent treatment in New York.
Selena Gomez
Lupus
28 years old Selena Marie Gomez the singer, songwriter, actress, and producer from Texas, USA said in 2015 that she suffers from lupus, an inflammatory disease that causes the immune system to attack its own tissues. Apart from skin rashes, lupus is known to cause achy joints (arthralgia), swollen joints (arthritis), constant or severe fatigue, ankle swelling. Lupus harmed her kidneys, and she underwent a kidney transplant in 2017.
Lady Gaga
Fibromyalgia
Stephanie Germanotta is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and businesswoman. Two years back, Gaga revealed her struggle with fibromyalgia, a condition that affects the nervous system and causes widespread pain throughout the body.
She also came up with a documentary about it. “In our documentary the #chronicillness #chronicpain I deal with is #Fibromyalgia,” she tweeted in September 2017. “I wish to help raise awareness & connect people who have it.” Fibromyalgia causes widespread muscle pain, along with fatigue and issues with sleep and memory.
“I get so irritated with people who don’t believe fibromyalgia is real,” the singer said in an interview to the media. “For me, and I think for many others, it’s really a cyclone of anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, and panic disorder, all of which sends the nervous system into overdrive, and then you have nerve pain as a result.”
Gigi Hadid
Hashimoto’s disease
International model Gigi Hadid or Jelena Noura (also the wife of Zayn Malik of One Direction band fame) suffers from Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder in which your immune system creates antibodies that damage your thyroid gland and what causes the immune system to attack the thyroid gland is still unknown. Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness, joint pain and stiffness, and muscle weakness are common symptoms among other issues.
“For those of you so determined to come up [with] why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started [at] 17 I was not yet diagnosed [with] Hashimoto’s disease,” she tweeted in February 2018. “Those of [you] who called me ‘too big for the industry’ were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that.”
Venus Williams
Sjogren’s syndrome
The former world No. 1 tennis Player Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an auto-immune disease whose symptoms include joint pain and fatigue. Williams has struggled since her diagnosis, pulling out of the 2011 US Open after being overwhelmed with fatigue. In Srojen’s syndrome, the body’s immune system attacks its own healthy cells that produce saliva and tears. Sjögren’s syndrome often occurs with other such disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Muscle or joint pain, swelling between the jaw and ears (swollen salivary glands), and some other symptoms of this disease.
“The fatigue is hard to explain unless you have it,” she told in a media interview The New York Times in 2011 of her struggle with Sjogren’s syndrome. “Some mornings I feel really sick, like when you don’t get a lot of sleep or you have the flu or cold. I always have some level of tiredness. And the more I tried to push through it, the tougher it got.”
Swara Bhaskar
Slipped disc
A couple of years back, actress Swara Bhasker revealed in an Instagram story that she had to be on bed rest for 10 days because of a slipped disk problem. Not taking adequate rest, there are chances that she might need 8 weeks of bed rest after 2 weeks. This condition occurs when the soft centre of a spinal disc pushes through a crack in the tougher exterior casing of a vertebra. Though Some herniated discs cause no symptoms, Others can irritate nearby nerves and result in pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. Not every disc needs intervention but some may need to be treated with medication, physiotherapy and possibly surgery.
Sneha Ullal
Autoimmune disorder
Cast against Salman Khan in ‘Lucky — No Time For Love’ (2005), she was called Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s look alike. But she disappeared from the industry as she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder.
“It’s a blood-related illness where my own immune system kept me unwell”, she said. “My body would become so weak that I would not be able to stand on my feet for more than 30 to 40 minutes and because I kept shooting for films even with this illness, it got worse. Beyond a point, I didn’t have the strength to do what an actress is expected to do — running around, dancing and continuous shooting etc. That’s when I had to stop and start my medication, because there was no point in doing films and then falling sick every other day.
Lisa Ray Cancer (Multiple Myeloma)
The famous actor and model, Lisa Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2009, a rare cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Lisa announced she was cancer-free in 2010 but not completely cured as disease is treatable but incurable. Bone pain, Bone weakness, Broken bones (fractures) are some symptoms of this disease amongst many others.
Samantha Polymorphous Light Eruption
Samantha, the popular actress down south, suffers from called PLE or Polymorphous Light Eruption in 2012. This is a skin condition called by sunlight wherein the person starts feeling very itchy and it leads to a lot of pain. This usually happens to those having fair skins. Symptoms of polymorphic light eruption. An itchy or burning rash appears within hours or up to 2 to 3 days after exposure to sunlight and lasts for 2 weeks. The rash usually appears on the parts of the skin exposed to sunlight, typically the head, neck, chest,and arms but disappears without leaving a scar.
Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has done her masters in Journalism & Communication and has worked as a senior journalist, editor and columnist for leading publications like The Logical Indian, Deccan Chronicle, Worldwide Media Corporation, The Bridge and Provoke.
With Infano, she hopes to create more awareness about women’s health issues. Suffering with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, she has also been advocating for its awareness through media.
