10/06/2019
"I was so used to being the Queen Bee, the top of the class, smart and pretty all-rounder but then I had a breakout of hormonal acne which ruined my skin and soon, I had it all:- hair loss, hirsutism, whiteheads, skin reactions and weight gain. I had always thought that it was only the dramatic element in 'ugly betty' that she was portrayed sad enough to hide herself. Until, one day, I was sitting in the class and I heard the girl behind me mumble 'dekho bechari ka chehra ka kya haal ho gaya ha. Pehle kitni pyari hoti thi.' Then on, it stuck in my brain, I was ugly and so ugly that I had to hide. My image in the mirror haunted me so I retracted myself from everything at school as I didn't deserve to go out or be among the better people. I did not take even a single photograph on my very own brother's wedding. I simply hated me.
When the barrenness sown inside of me started flourishing and couldn’t be contained any longer, it was taken into account by my parents who dragged me to the Professor of Dermatology in Nishtar Hospital. He realized that more was wrong inside me than was outside. I was told one thing that day, 'If you cry about your acne or hair loss, you are only increasing the stress on your body that is causing them.' So after months, finally came the night I did not cry myself to sleep. Meanwhile my mother became my anchor, stood like a rock beside me and gave me the confidence and love that sees far beyond the confines of what appears on the outside,, deep into the soul. She kept reassuring me that she could love me with all her heart even if my acne worsened. So, slowly, I learnt that I deserve the best and since then I have only given myself the best of my efforts which have included visiting dermatology every so often because my skin even today, even after so much care reacts or flares up.
People never realize that for a girl 17 years old, her looks are probably it. When the mean girl next to her or the aunt with the perfect kids makes fun of her, her life is done. It doesn't stop there. These past few days, I have heard people mocking actresses talking about skin issues as if that is a petty matter. Remember when you learnt that skin is the largest organ of the body (hence the importance)? If not, get a second degree burn and you will realize that your life depends on the vitality of your skin too! While doctors adore workaholics with stress acne and hair loss, we must aim to be better: healthier, more empathetic because we are more knowledgeable. We must transform the concept of self care from "high maintenance snobbish" to "necessary health care" may it require you hitting the gym or having to go to derma 6 times a year or going to a psychiatrist. Must you and I, always remember that even the Hippocratic Oath now says,' I WILL ATTEND TO my own health, well-being, and abilities in order to provide care of the highest standard'.
Repeat after me, "A sound BODY has a sound MIND."
