Vitiligo: my changing sense of self

https://www.changingfaces.org.uk/ Vitiligo: my changing sense of self Joti Gata-Aura lives with the rare skin condition, vitiligo. Having learned over time how to feel comfortable in her own skin, Joti now advocates for people with vitiligo and other visible differences. As a woman of Indian heritage, she has had to learn to accept that her skin is always changing. Here she reflects on how her lived experiences have affected her own sense of self and cultural identity https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vitiligo-my-changing-sense-self-rare-revolution-magazine-ltv9e/ Vitiligo: my changing sense of self https://rarerevolutionmagazine.com/vitiligo-my-changing-sense-of-self/ Written by Joe Rumney, RARE Revolution Interview with Joti Gata-Aura More than skin deep Joti Gata-Aura has navigated vitiligo since her diagnosis over 20 years ago. In that time, while also being a dedicated parent and teacher, she has embraced the role of educator and campaigner for people with visible differences, which she does through her personal advocacy and through her work with the charities Changing Faces and The Vitiligo Society. Vitiligo is a rare long-term skin condition characterised by the loss of pigment, resulting in white patches which appear anywhere on the body. This occurs when the cells responsible for producing melanin—the pigment that gives skin its colour—are destroyed or stop functioning.1 While now a confident advocate, Joti hasn’t always felt strong in her own skin. In the early stages of her vitiligo journey, aged just 21 years old, she struggled with increasing depression and anxiety as her skin started to change, particularly on her face. There were periods when she couldn’t even open the door to visitors who called at her house— feeling compelled to hide her skin from the outside world. She would often think of excuses to avoid contact with other people, “Those initial few years were really hard. I think people look at me now and forget the hard times I’ve gone through”, Joti explains. https://vitiligosociety.org/