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This Is How Psoriasis Changed This 23YO Girl’s Perspective Towards Life!

Written By: Sonali
August 3, 2020
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I’ve known Navya* since childhood — let’s just say that she is my partner in crime. But what I didn’t know about were her struggles and the mental sanity that she was losing over a crippling disease called psoriasis!

Yes, a crippling disease! A disease that doesn’t only depredate your skin but also take a dig on your mental health. A very crippled and devilish disease which has no cure.

So, it started around the rise of 2017 — a tiny patch on her private parts which she initially ignored — when it began to grow, she thought it was some sort of vaginal infection, which gradually reached her thighs. On showing to the doctor, it was found that it’s psoriasis — something she had no idea of.

“I still remember how much my parents got worried after knowing this. It was not just the disease that hampered them but the fact that the entire extended family won’t spare their daughter after they get to know this,” Navya sighs.

This Is How Psoriasis Changed This 23YO Girl's Perspective Towards Life!

Navya belongs to that part of the country where women are measured as per their colour tone. Oh, wait, isn’t this what happens in the entire country?! But yes, she belongs to a very broadminded family but a very orthodox ‘khandaan’. So the bottom line is, beauty mattered to them. The flesh of the body was more considerable to them than the cerebrum.

“I realized how much external beauty mattered to people — which psoriasis ruined in my case,” Navya continues. “When my doctor told me that it’s not curable, I felt the literal meaning of ‘main thehra raha zameen chalne lagi’. But did I have any option? Not really! I did everything — from homoeopathy to allopathy, ayurveda, yoga, what not! — knocked every door, be it the medical science or the spiritual path. But my life was going no less than Ekta Kapoor’s daily soap.”

“I told my brother and boyfriend. They listened — to every word of mine and just said, ‘does it really matter?’ And there had been no turning back ever since,” I love how Navya’s eyes get brightened when she smiles.

It was not easy for her. Of course, who likes to see huge patches on their private parts and other areas of the body? But she was determined — not because the ‘external’ beauty mattered to her but the fact that she was not able to wear her favourite LBD. Afterall, log kya kahenge!

This Is How Psoriasis Changed This 23YO Girl's Perspective Towards Life!

She changed her diet completely, which eventually transformed her. A quick recap of what she went through — 

  • Mild and simple meals without oil or spices
  • Full sleeves clothes every time on stepping out
  • No shorts/ dresses
  • And, a very few people were aware of her condition.

It matters when people don’t know about your condition. “Every time I went to birthday parties or family functions, I couldn’t eat my favourite food, and everybody used to ponder about me. And I was lean enough to say that I was on a diet. That’s when ‘these very few people’ came to my rescue. They used to cover me up with bizarre and funny excuses, and I loved the way they stood for me every time,” Navya tells me.

This Is How Psoriasis Changed This 23YO Girl's Perspective Towards Life!

Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with these relatives! Mine pestered me to lose some weight while hers were harassing her to gain some kilos.

Navya went for two ayurvedic treatments — virechan and vaman — and a massage prior that. These processes help the body in getting toxic out of it — via poop in virechan and via puke in vaman. This was followed by a strict diet and a healthy lifestyle. However, PCOS befriended her to make it worse.

“I used to have sudden mental breakdowns, but I always pacified myself, believing that there were a lot of people suffering more than me. My doctor always said that I’ve comparatively fewer patches than a lot of women, but duh, these were enough to kill my self-esteem. At times, I used to itch my scalp so much that blood would come out of it. Awful, I know,” Navya continues with her tale.

She was more worried about her relatives’ reactions than her desire to eat cheese. But she kept fighting against the evil duo of PCOS & psoriasis. She continued her workout and yoga and tried not to stress out much.

This Is How Psoriasis Changed This 23YO Girl's Perspective Towards Life!

“I owe it to these people, my parents, brother and boyfriend who endured my mood swings so seamlessly. It’s been more than three years now and I just have two patches on my body. All I am doing now is keeping up with my diet and routine,” Navya continues with a brief of the diet she followed.

  • Minimized salt and sugar — it triggers the itching and results in bleeding
  • Included rock salt in her diet
  • Removed dairy products
  • Kept moisturizing her skin during winters — coconut oil is best
  • Ate only green veggies and no junk/ outside food — once in a month would be okay
  • Exercised a lot — meditation is recommended.

Though only two patches are visible on her body now, Navya believes a steady diet helped her a lot. She convinced herself that she would get rid of those patches, no matter how long it takes. Her diet and workout sessions eventually helped her to get rid of PCOS as well. 

In the end, she smiles and says, “kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna! I won’t say not to take stress because I know you will but do not forget to meditate. Keep your hopes high. Psoriasis is a part of you; you are not a part of psoriasis.”

To know more about psoriasis, you can inbox us on Facebook/ Instagram or tweet us with #NavyaKiKahani, and we will get you as many details as possible.

*Name changed as per requests.
Images: Provided by Navya.

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Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

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Infano Care

Shantha Ragunathan: The Woman Who Lifted An Entire Village By Uplifting Its Women!

Written By: Sonali
October 17, 2020 | 09:00 PM |
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When Shantha took up a volunteer job at a local government office in the village of Kodapattinam, situated in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district, she had no idea that her life would change forever — and not only her life, but that she would inspire, empower and transform several other lives!

Shantha (who, like many women where she lives, doesn’t use her last name) was born amidst extreme poverty, had lost her parents at the age of six and was married in an extremely poorer family. Life was hard — but it became harder after her children were born — she was unable to make ends meet and support her two kids.

The idea of volunteering at the government office was to get some exposure to a wider world beyond her immediate family and community. The job gave her nothing except for reimbursing her bus fares, but she did get an experience of working in an office and networking with government workers and business people — and that’s what she was looking for.

It was during her tenure at that office when she heard of self-help groups (SHGs) — the idea was based on the model of microfinance — and Shantha believed that this could alleviate her poverty. The prerequisite was that each individual from the group had to contribute an equal amount of money to avail a matched amount of loan by the bank with subsidised interest rates.

Source

The process was then followed by the submission of business ideas by the group, and if approved, the loan could be used to get their business going, and part of their revenues could be used to repay the loan over time.

All Shantha wished was a minimum of 20 women willing to contribute INR 10 each to start the group. But her fate wanted to test her — and it took her more than two years to find those 20 women. This would be enough to picturise the poverty level and poor condition of that village I assume!

Shantha never gave up. She went from door to door — tried several times to convince those women — gave them ideas to save that INR 10, which we randomly spend on chocolate or cigarettes! And she did it. 

The bank, initially, was not ready to believe her plans, because she was a woman, but this gritty lady did not give up even then. After six months, she was able to convince the bank, and in her words, she learnt to deal with such issues herself. And as of today, the bank trusts them more than they trust most men in her village.

Source

Shantha’s self-help groups (SHGs) AKA microfinance group started with buying cows and selling their milk. In 2009, she came in contact with a Chennai-based bag manufacturer which was looking to outsource the packaging part of its business. Keeping the financial well-being of the women of her village, she immediately agreed to the deal.

It took her some time to find a space for this job and to convince more women to join it, but eventually, it kicked off, and she employed more women over the years. You can guess the profit by the fact that they managed to manufacture more than 5,000 bags per week with a strength of 26 women in the group. These are the women whose lives were drastically transformed by employment. They became more self-independent, empowered and self-sufficient.

Shantha’s self-help groups (SHGs) also serve as a model for women in other villages. She helps other women to begin from scratch, and she continues to inspire others to move forward in their life.

As for herself and her kids — her son is the first graduate and an engineer from her family to work at a reputed company — she owns a concrete house, a television, a fan, a bed, a stove and a dignified life which each of us work hard to live.

Source

“I was the only one excited about it. But I knew I should start it in my village. Today, we have a great track record…with the bank. The women recognise the fact that there are several of us…and we are all responsible for each other, so everyone pays on time. Looking at how well we managed (it), the bank called us and asked us to help start groups in surrounding villages. After I started about two groups, I trained people to start their own groups. I’m living happily and peacefully,” Shantha told the BBC.

October 17 is observed as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty throughout the world. As per the United Nations, high poverty rates are often found in small, fragile and conflict-affected countries, and as of 2018, 55% of the world’s population have no access to at least one social protection cash benefit.

The theme for the Day this year addresses the challenge of achieving social and environmental justice for all. Individuals like Shantha, who thinks of others upliftment along with theirs, are much needed for this society right now, and Infano intends to be one of them — by empowering more women, bringing more such stories to you with a hope to bring a light of change. #EndPoverty #InfanoWomen

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Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

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