Breaking the Silent Barriers

Featured in this article is Sukanya Yogesh, who has opened up the story of her life and provided us with a glimpse into her journey of struggle, battling her own invisible condition. Life is rightly about how one can make one’s journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary. All hell broke loose in my life when a ligament tear on a finger lead me to be diagnosed with Arthritis, an auto immune disorder. Not having any genetic history, left me wondering what could have caused it, lifestyle, stress, overwork. It was shocking to say the least. I always thought Arthritis affected the elderly but came to know it can affect any age group.aArthritis is an auto immune disease where the immune system can go awry, mistakenly attacking the joints with uncontrolled inflammation, potentially causing joint erosion and may damage internal organs, eyes and other parts of the body. If pain is the most common and troublesome symptom of arthritis, fatigue runs a close second. Often the two are closely r...

Featured in this article is Malini Letchumanan, who has opened her life and provided us with a glimpse into her story of struggle with her own invisible condition. I could sense things. I could smell things. I don’t mean the way someone’s natural senses work. This was out of the ordinary. I was seeing things that weren’t there. I was very angry. I resorted to physical outbursts, beating my children, breaking and throwing things. My mood swings were highly unpredictable and most of the time I harboured negative thoughts. I couldn’t control my anger in any situation. I started causing self injuries as during these episodes, I ended up doing the only thing that gave me relief. I would bang my head against the wall. I had temper tantrums and sought relief by hitting the children, shouting at my husband. I had no clue what was happening to me. I could never go in crowded places. My surroundings would start to shrink, and I felt suffocated, an uneasy claustrophobia. It was somewhere in the ...

Have you ever seen an iceberg? The prism of packed ice illuminates the surrounding sea. The part you can see is beautiful, yet most of its mass lies beneath the surface. You cannot know about what you cannot see. Therefore, your perception is based on what is visible, and the invisible part is completely ignored resulting in an inaccurate perception. It’s the same with people suffering with invisible diseases. They very bravely wear a façade to mask their personal despair but once you are able to go beyond the mask and see their daily struggle to survive, I am sure you will be shocked and moved beyond words…. There is a vast majority of people who do not know a thing about invisible illnesses. I know since you haven’t come across anyone who suffers or do not live with it yourself it’s hard to comprehend, but I hope what I have to say will give you an insight into what life is like for me for the past 22 years. It was in the year 1998 at 29 years of age I was diagnosed with hav...