Anyone with vitiligo in visible places can tell you that when people stare at our vitiligo it can have some pretty heavy emotional consequences. Of course, sometimes you get positive attention as well. The best way to balance things out is to learn to manage your feelings about the attention you get!
I have had vitiligo on my face for three and a half years. It started out as a spot on my chin, and soon I found that I had spots all over my face. I was like a dalmatian. Or a pinto 🙂 I got a lot of attention because of it. I would have preferred that people ask me about it and have an open conversation, but I’m sure they did not want to make me feel uncomfortable. Over the years, as my vitiligo changed I changed too. I learned to manage my feelings about my vitiligo and about the attention that people gave me. Now I just have a few spots on my face, and depending on how my hair is styled you sometimes can’t even see them, but people still drop their jaws at me every now and then.
I decided to make a video about what to do when people stare at your vitiligo because I have noticed that a lot of people with vitiligo hate their own skin. It makes me so sad. There are many beautiful things about vitiligo, and focusing on the positives at least helps to lessen any emotional hurt.
Thank you for reading and watching!
Yours,
Aruna
P.S. I’m working to improve my videos in general! I just got a new camera (early birthday gift) and I’m moving out of the Harvard dorms this weekend. So I hope to figure out a good location for better lighting!
Eudaimonia 