July 12, 2022

Episode 13: Nitika Chopra - Beauty Beyond Chronic Illness

Episode 13: Nitika Chopra - Beauty Beyond Chronic Illness
The Human Beauty Movement Podcast
Episode 13: Nitika Chopra - Beauty Beyond Chronic Illness

Meet Nitika Chopra! After living with severely debilitating psoriasis that covered her entire body and painful psoriatic arthritis, Nitika found wellness and the life-changing power of support to help her on her own self-love journey. Now, she is doing the same for thousands of others. Nitika is the founder and CEO of Chronicon, an inclusive conference and community focused on uplifting people who are living with chronic illness. Chronicon features inspiration, advocacy, and empowerment for chronically ill folks across the globe to connect. This is an incredible interview with an absolutely beautiful human. Enjoy the listen!


Nitika's Links:


The Human Beauty Movement's Links:

Jennifer Norman's Links:

Thank you for being a Beautiful Human. 

Transcript
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Hello, beautiful humans.
Welcome to another episode of

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Role Models GC conversations
with beautiful humans.

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I'm Jennifer Norman founder of
the human Beauty movement and

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your host, today's guest is the
one and only netiquette Chopra

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seriously folks.
Nitta is my kind of gal, after

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living, with severely,
debilitating, psoriasis and

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psoriatic arthritis, Titus for
over 30 years in Attica, Found

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the courage to open up about her
health.

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She realized that life changing
power of support and Community

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helped her on her own self-love
journey and now she's doing the

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same for thousands of others.
You know, if you've ever felt

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like you didn't belong because
of the health challenges, you

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face Medica gets it.
She's the founder of chronic on

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and inclusive conference focused
on uplifting people who are

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living with chronic.
And she's also expanded the

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concept to live online through
the chronicon community.

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It features inspiration,
advocacy.

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And empowerment for chronically
ill folks across the globe to

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connect.
Welcome dedica.

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Thanks so much for having me.
I was so excited to be here.

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Oh, I'm so glad to have you now.
I'd like to go back to the early

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days because you were first
diagnosed with psoriasis at the

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age of 10, right?
Yes.

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I was tell us about what it was
like to all of a sudden.

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See this as a Child.
Yeah, I mean it really caught me

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off guard and I can still sort
of feel that when I think about

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it and I go back to that point
in time I was like, most

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ten-year-old kids.
I was sort of oblivious to these

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bigger issues that a lot of
people face because I was a, you

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know, relatively healthy kid.
And I wasn't really thinking

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about my body in this particular
way.

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And I ended up getting a spot on
my left arm and my family

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thought, you know, maybe it's
eczema or something and my

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parents have had a little eggs
and It went away pretty quickly

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with the cream, and so they
weren't really worried about it.

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And over time, I finally got to
see the doctor and they did like

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a biopsy and almost stuff and we
found out that it was psoriasis.

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And I remember feeling the
worried that my family had

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because they were sort of told,
this could be a more serious

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thing.
And I feel like I kind of close

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my eyes and then open them again
and it's like a year later, and

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I'm completely covered.
So, it started with one spot but

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I ended up having Hang it, from
the tip of my foot to the tip of

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my head for about 17 years of my
life.

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Wow.
Yeah.

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For those who aren't familiar
with psoriasis, could you

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describe it and what you were
feeling?

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Yeah, absolutely.
So psoriasis is an autoimmune

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disease but it's one that
impacts your skin and so a lot

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of people who get it, they get
it like maybe in their scalp or

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on their joints like on their
elbows or their knees or

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something like that.
But I ended up as I said,

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getting it all over and it's
basically like it.

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It's just like Chicken pox.
It's like very, very, very itchy

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and there's a few different
types of psoriasis that the kind

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that I have is these red scaly
patches and so it's like rough

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dry skin.
And essentially, your skin is

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like regenerating way too fast
and it's creating new cellular

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skin on top of your regular skin
cells and so it creates these

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scaly patches so there's
different kinds but that's the

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kind that I had and it itches
really badly and so then you're

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kind of like flaking dry skin,
almost like how you see when

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someone has dry My skin and they
have, like, dandruff or

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something.
My whole body was like that and

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then it xia's and if you scratch
it it would bleed.

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Like it was really, it was
really hard.

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Oh my goodness.
And then later on when you are

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about 19, that really started to
escalate into something

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different.
What was that?

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Yeah, when I was 19, I was in my
college dorm and I was like,

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trying to open like the inside
bag.

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It's like a cereal box, you
know, like a box of cereal and

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it's like a simple movement to
open that.

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And Reason like my hands
wouldn't work and I didn't know

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what was going on.
Span up.

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Getting some testing done and
found out that I had psoriatic

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arthritis which is very common
to go hand-in-hand with

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psoriasis.
Some people have one and not the

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other but I got both and I got
that through all the bones in my

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body.
Oh my goodness.

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And then shortly after that,
they started to go and see some

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doctors about it.
And one doctor in particular,

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said that your bones were going
to start to become deformed if

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you didn't do something else.
Is that right?

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Yeah, you know it was A journey
to get to that point.

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But basically I had gotten
psoriasis, so young and I had

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really only done like topical
treatments for it.

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Other treatments that we have.
Now, we're not as available back

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then and then when I got sorry,
I had a car Freitas, I had tried

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a medicine that it really
backfired.

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It like didn't work on me very
well.

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So I became kind of scared to
try something new.

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There was more like medicinal
and then yeah, after about five

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or six years of really like
having a hard time walking

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really the kind of becoming
nearly Mobile for a lot of the

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first half of my 20s, my
rheumatologist at the time.

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Finally, took x-rays of me and
he was just like, your bones are

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going to become permanently
deformed.

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If you don't, stop this
degenerative processes

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happening.
And then obviously I was like

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25, you know, and I was like oh
my God, I'm not really living my

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life.
That was a huge part of it too.

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I just felt like I couldn't
really live, you know, because I

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was talking bad, a lot.
It was in pain a lot.

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I didn't really have the
physical freedom to like go

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explore.
Or go figure out even like, for

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anyone who's been in pain.
It's like it consumes your mind

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in such an intense way, you know
what I mean?

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So all those things were
happening and I finally, after

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my doctor said that I was like,
okay, I think I'm ready to try

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medicine again, even though that
first time didn't work and it

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kind of set me back, I think
there's been updates and, you

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know, but I can find something
that will work this time and I

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did and I found a medicine that
really helped me and allowed me

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to kind of have a new lease on
life.

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That's amazing.
Now there is always a struggle,

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especially Really for us who are
more inclined to prefer natural

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products and natural
ingredients, and things like

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that.
It's almost been a taboo.

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If you go to the Western
medicine front and I know that I

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battled that a lot with my own
situation with my son who also

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suffers from a genetic disorder
which is a mitochondrial

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disease.
And for a while you're looking

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for holistic, treatments, you're
looking for things like that and

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granted, you know, we called the
shamans, we did all of that.

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We did the acupuncture.
We did a lot of the healing and

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that use to be modalities that
we do practice.

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You just had a Reiki session the
other day.

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But when the body needs, it
medicine is there for a reason

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there is absolutely no taboo and
nothing wrong and no shame in

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needing to dip into Western
medicine for those things that

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are not curable or otherwise
addressed for your own purpose,

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you know.
It's like yes some people might

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benefit from doing the holistic
thing and it may work great.

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But everybody is unique.
Everybody is different and it is

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Okay to need to go into medicine
for what needs you so that you

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can find comfort.
And it gets you to that place

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where you can Elevate to a
situation where the funk starts

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to lift away.
Right?

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You know, the pain starts to be
alleviated and then you can

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start functioning and getting to
a place where you can

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participate in your own self.
Healing, a bit more.

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Is that kind of accurate for you
too?

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Yeah, for sure I wish there
wasn't such a taboo on taking

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medication because I definitely
for those early years of my

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twenties, I was I was learning
about self-love, I was learning

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about, you know, manifestation
love and light, and these

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things.
And I also was learning about

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acupuncture and things like that
as well.

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And I still follow.
So many of the things that I

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learned back then.
Like, I try to keep a positive

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mindset, even a simple thing,
like drinking enough water, it

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always having water with me.
You know, I go to an

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acupuncturist.
Now, I have long haul covid that

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I'm dealing with lately, so I go
to an acupuncturist every week.

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It's not Or the other.
But I also take my medication

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every, you know, two weeks.
And that's what I'm supposed to

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be taking it.
And I think it does such a

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disservice to shame people,
which I think is a lot of what

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happens that one way is totally
wrong or the other way is the

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only way.
It's just I think they can all

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live together, you know.
It doesn't have to be so all or

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nothing.
And I think that's actually the

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way that we create real Harmony
for our bodies and ourselves and

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our minds even.
So, yeah, I experience that a

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lot but I definitely felt like
just so afraid.

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I even felt afraid to tell
people in my work, you know, as

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an entrepreneur and I'm talking
about all the things like,

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self-love things are talking
about living with chronic

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illness.
I was so afraid to tell people

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that I too have to take
medication and like, no, I

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didn't just sit on a Mountaintop
and say, ohm for like two days

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and then not have any chronic
illnesses.

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It's constant.
And I think it's just a shame

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that we shame people into
thinking that they need to do it

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another way.
Yeah, the one that I've been.

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Hearing a lot lately is about
the idea or the concept of

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dis-ease, which is disease, but
people believe that.

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Oh, there's something inherently
going on in your subconscious,

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or in your system that your body
is fighting against and it's

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manifesting as dis ease and so,
yeah, I guess that could be a

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thing.
But honestly, I honestly believe

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that, you know, things are going
to happen.

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The fact that you may have
cancer or the fact that you may

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develop psoriasis is not your
Fault.

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And I think that that's the
thing, that the idea or the

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concept of dis ease, please out
of my people was like, oh my

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God, I'm doing something.
There's something that's

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unsettled within my soul or
within me that is manifesting.

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And how do I get rid of this
through either meditation or all

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of these things which may not
necessarily be all about Western

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medicine.
But again, I just want to kind

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of last out the stigma about dis
ease or about having chronic

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illness, because there is no
shame about it.

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There is only the fact that this
is This is life and that it's

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definitely a place where we do
seek to alleviate pain and

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discomfort and doing that
through medicine.

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Doing that through any kind of
healing modalities that are

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right for you is perfectly okay?
Yeah, absolutely.

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Yeah I heard that dis he's thing
like years ago and I grabbed

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onto it when I first heard it
because I was like oh my God.

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Okay.
Like if I just think perfectly

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or if I just think he'll these
negative thoughts that I have

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then that means Means I won't
have this dis ease in me.

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Like okay and I did that for
years to myself and to be honest

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with you, I feel like that made
me more sick than actually made

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me feel better because I was so
stressed about thinking.

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Anything less than love and
light, everything is great.

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Everything is going to be
amazing.

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At any time I had like a real
thought or like a tender thought

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or I had any fear or anything,
that's like completely normal.

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I would feel scared.
And I was making myself more

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sick, which is just not the way
people not the way.

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Yeah, and on top of that, you
know, now that we're touching

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on, like, mental health.
And what not, I know like, from

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a cultural perspective, the
idea.

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Oh, you've got something wrong
with your skin or oh, your body

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doesn't look like how we ideally
want your body to look, no

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matter what that could be.
You know, whether that is an

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extra five pounds or acne or
wrinkles or what have you tell

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me what that was?
Like, because culturally I

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believe that.
The Southeast Asian woman there

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was something with your family
and culturally that really also

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impacted you growing up, right?
Yeah, you know as much as we've

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talked about how it's not
totally connected to only your

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thoughts your disease, right?
We talked about that a lot there

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is also this part of me that is
so connected to my spirit and so

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connected to something greater
than me.

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And a lot of times I feel that
through my body and so growing

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up in a family where in the
Indian culture, Very much about

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keeping things under wraps.
It's very much about doing the

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things that are going to look
good.

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Doing what other people will
think is, okay, doing things

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that you're obligated to do or
out of Duty versus what's true

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for you.
I did not come out of the womb

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that way I just did not.
I have never been that way and

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that doesn't mean that I'm like
ruffling feathers just to ruffle

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feathers.
It's not that.

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But my mom ever since I was 2
has called me Africa.

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A key, which means firecracker
in Hindi and it's because like

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anything, if it doesn't feel
right to me, I just I will speak

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up.
I will say no, I will ask why I

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will call people out.
I just want the truth.

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That's what I've always, always,
always strived for and in a

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family, or in a culture where
the truth is kind of secondary

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to what looks good.
It's really inconvenient.

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It was really, really Really,
really inconvenient.

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And a lot of that I always found
is really connected to my health

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and I honestly still feel that
today like so many of my

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friendships and now I'm 41 and I
feel like I finally have settled

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into a Groove with so many
friends that I feel are in my

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life and love me because I am
this way versus for so long.

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I felt I was friends with are
trying so hard to be friends

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with their being relationships
and people who like tolerated as

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part of me but that's the beauty
of getting older.

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Now I get to It'd be like, oh
no, I'm seeing the other side, I

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want to be friends with the
people who love me because they

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come to me because I'm always
demanding the truth.

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So, yeah, in terms of cultural
upbringing, it was challenging

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that doesn't quite acknowledge
the physical part of it, but I

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actually think that that part
was so much harder than any

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other part.
And I actually also really

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struggled with my weight a lot
in that conversation.

264
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It's funny.
Like I think my psoriasis and my

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story out of arthritis was
always so intense, they were

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trying to fix me but they never
made me feel off.

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Your size because of that.
But it was more when I was

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really really sick.
I would lose a lot of weight and

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then I would be acceptable.
And a lot of times when I really

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wasn't feeling well, and I was
like, maybe emotionally eating

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or my inflammation was really
high or whatever it might be, it

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was not okay.
That I was heavier.

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So that's that's actually more
the thing that I've had to work

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on in terms of like my
appearance and my family and

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then coupled with wanting the
truth at all times.

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I completely can relate from the
perspective and I think a lot of

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people can because you know, it
is a journey for you to like

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discover who you are.
It's almost like that Journey

279
00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,500
back to ourselves right where
no, there's so much that we take

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00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:45,900
as external influence from the
people that we love or the

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00:14:45,908 --> 00:14:49,300
people that we look up to, for
cues on what's acceptable, and

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what's not, and rather than
really discovering it for

283
00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:56,500
ourselves and being okay, with
how we are that creates such a

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friction in us, being able to
accept ourselves.

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I was and that causes us to feel
insecure in ourselves and it

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00:15:03,700 --> 00:15:06,900
resonates and it creates all
sorts of things that happen.

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Where once you do find that, you
know what?

288
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It's almost like a surrendering,
right?

289
00:15:11,300 --> 00:15:13,800
That's almost like you know
what, I can't fight this

290
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,900
anymore, you get to a point
where yeah wow I'm suddenly okay

291
00:15:17,900 --> 00:15:20,400
with myself and I'm just going
to be me and then once you are

292
00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,900
you realize that law of
attraction works and you find

293
00:15:22,900 --> 00:15:25,700
the people that love you for who
you are because you know you

294
00:15:25,700 --> 00:15:27,900
love who you are other people
will too.

295
00:15:27,900 --> 00:15:29,600
Yeah it's so true.
It's taken me a while.

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While to get there.
I actually I'm I just turned 41

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00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,800
a couple months ago and I feel
like I'm finally settling in

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00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,700
said, I'm sure it's going to
even more and more and more as I

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00:15:38,900 --> 00:15:41,300
get older.
But yeah, this birthday really

300
00:15:41,300 --> 00:15:43,900
feel like that's been like the
biggest difference that I

301
00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:47,200
finally feel, if you don't like
me or don't want what's going on

302
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,700
over here, like, please leave,
I'm actually fine with that

303
00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:55,200
because like, I have people who
do want exactly how I am but it

304
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,900
takes time to get there.
Yeah, and there will be days

305
00:15:57,900 --> 00:16:01,200
where it's more and then they'll
Days where you'll feel a little

306
00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,900
bit woozy is not a great day for
me and that's okay too.

307
00:16:04,900 --> 00:16:06,600
You know, it's just like long
as.

308
00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,800
There's more moving forward in
that direction as we're going

309
00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,800
through time and going through
life, then you know, I consider

310
00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:14,100
that a win.
I think that's a pretty

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00:16:14,100 --> 00:16:17,600
successful life.
Totally, totally, I agree.

312
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:21,600
Yeah, so then as you were on
your path, you started to almost

313
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,600
get to this place where you had
a ritual of self-care going.

314
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,400
You kind of got into the Schick
of like, that was the thing that

315
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,500
helped you to I think Elevate
and lift.

316
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,000
Yourself into this place where
oh I have a little bit more

317
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,100
energy to devote to myself and
then girlfriend's, you went all

318
00:16:37,100 --> 00:16:40,400
out.
Even I mean, you started to

319
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:44,100
become a Global TV host, on
natural, beautiful on Z living,

320
00:16:44,100 --> 00:16:48,300
you represented fresh a beauty.
Brand on QVC, you founded your

321
00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:51,000
bella, life, and online,
lifestyle magazine.

322
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,300
So, what gave you this impetus
to really go into this place

323
00:16:55,300 --> 00:16:58,000
where you were gravitating
towards an image-based career?

324
00:16:58,100 --> 00:16:59,500
Yeah, that's such a beautiful
way.

325
00:16:59,700 --> 00:17:02,900
Put it.
So when I was 15, I like to tell

326
00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:06,500
the story because I think
nowadays we can look on social

327
00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:10,900
media, or wherever and just see
the finished product of someone,

328
00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:14,000
or even just like feel
competitive, like, it's like all

329
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,200
about the results or the end
goal or whatever.

330
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,500
But when I was 15, and I was
really in the part of all the

331
00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:24,400
devastation was going through
with my body and I was really

332
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,200
struggling.
And I also I was in high school.

333
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,500
I had a really hard time
concentrating in class and

334
00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,600
Bullied a lot and all these
things and a lot of that came

335
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,200
back to like what I was dealing
with, with my health, I had this

336
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,300
experience with what I call God
but, you know, call it what you

337
00:17:39,300 --> 00:17:41,800
want or to me.
I'm a very spiritual person and

338
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,600
not a religious person really at
all, but a very, very spiritual

339
00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,700
person.
I had this moment where I really

340
00:17:48,700 --> 00:17:51,300
was like on my knees.
Just like I don't know how I'm

341
00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:55,600
going to do this anymore, I feel
like I don't understand why you

342
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,100
brought me here like this is
what I was saying out loud.

343
00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:01,200
God I'm a locked myself in
Closet was sitting at the bottom

344
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,100
of my closets on my floor and I
was just like, I don't know why

345
00:18:04,100 --> 00:18:07,100
you brought me here just to
like, put me through this much

346
00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:10,800
suffering and I feel like so
many people have had that

347
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,100
experience, right?
Where you're just like make it

348
00:18:13,100 --> 00:18:17,300
make sense II don't understand.
I actually do not understand and

349
00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:20,800
I heard a message that was so
clear.

350
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,800
I'm going to expel me chills.
It's been so many years since I

351
00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,200
have been telling the story that
I always get chills whenever I

352
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,300
share it.
And I heard a message that was

353
00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:36,300
so So clear and all I heard was
this is not about you and I and

354
00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:40,800
I didn't know getting chills.
I'm gonna yeah look my arm hair

355
00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,300
is growing so much right now.
Yeah that's when you know that's

356
00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:47,200
when you know Divine message
it's powerful.

357
00:18:47,500 --> 00:18:50,600
Yeah and I didn't know what that
really meant, right?

358
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,600
I was 15 and there was no I mean
it's barely internet back.

359
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:58,300
Then there was no blogging and
you know my friends that are

360
00:18:58,300 --> 00:19:02,200
authors and like all these There
was none of that, but I knew it

361
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,300
was true.
I knew I didn't understand what

362
00:19:05,300 --> 00:19:06,800
it meant, but I knew it was
true.

363
00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:13,400
So from that moment forward, I
allowed myself to believe that

364
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:18,400
my suffering was not about me.
And I sort of ever since that

365
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:20,400
moment.
And even today, you know, even

366
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:25,000
with doing lots of things, I'm
constantly on the expedition of

367
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,600
like, what is this.
Why did you give me two decades

368
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,400
worth of Plus of suffering, why
did you put me through that

369
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,500
Journey?
What is it, what every single

370
00:19:35,500 --> 00:19:39,300
day I want to be living up to
what you told me that my purpose

371
00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:43,400
was like the reason for you
doing this and this.

372
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,500
So my first attempt at that was
ballet.

373
00:19:47,500 --> 00:19:50,300
If you know, you're about
life.com, which is closed now.

374
00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:53,000
But I had that initially, I
started it because I really

375
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:58,000
wanted my own talk show because
I really believe that my love

376
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,200
for performance and my love.
We're talking and, you know, all

377
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:05,100
that kind of stuff was meant to
be married with sharing a deeper

378
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:09,000
story and Anime connections.
I didn't have any experience.

379
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,600
I didn't have any knowledge of
how to do it, but I basically

380
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:16,300
created a life as a sort of
template for what a talk show,

381
00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:19,900
could be and prayed and charge
my credit card, and I hired a

382
00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:22,100
graphic designer.
And then three years later.

383
00:20:22,100 --> 00:20:25,600
I ended up getting my own talk
show on cable television, but

384
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,100
that still wasn't it.
It was amazing.

385
00:20:28,100 --> 00:20:29,500
It was so beautiful.
It was such.

386
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:33,500
Incredible Journey and for me
talking about beauty and talking

387
00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:36,800
about self-love and all those
kinds of things are so

388
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,800
important.
But I really wanted to be

389
00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:44,900
talking about chronic illness
and I didn't know how to do that

390
00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:47,500
and then beginning and I didn't
even know that I was like at

391
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,300
allowed to do that because I
didn't know anyone who was

392
00:20:50,300 --> 00:20:52,100
really talking about those
things.

393
00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:55,400
It was that first moment that
led me to that and it's sort of

394
00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,800
unfold it and there are.
Yeah I think that that's an

395
00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,400
extraordinary.
Story and to the people who are

396
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:04,200
entrepreneurs, I'm an
entrepreneur entrepreneur and

397
00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:07,400
who feel like, oh, they're
afraid to fail, it's like, oh

398
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:09,900
gosh.
What if I fail and that fear is

399
00:21:09,900 --> 00:21:12,600
holding them back.
Whereas, if you just think about

400
00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,500
it, like school, like life is
all about practice and it's just

401
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:18,500
as if you're learning how to
play ball or if you're in

402
00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:22,100
school, it's like perhaps that
step was your Elementary School,

403
00:21:22,100 --> 00:21:23,500
you know?
And then it's kind of like

404
00:21:23,500 --> 00:21:26,400
congratulations, you've
graduated that moves aside and

405
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,400
it creates A New Path for you to
start opening up.

406
00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:32,800
Up into something new, which is
bigger, and more aligned with

407
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,200
who you are becoming.
And so, yeah, I think that the

408
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,100
idea of being image-based, it
was almost like, because you

409
00:21:39,100 --> 00:21:41,400
were here a little firecracker.
I think it's just like, you

410
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,900
know, heck with you psoriasis.
Heck with you, but, you know,

411
00:21:43,908 --> 00:21:47,600
it's like this is me and it was
like, your way of almost pushing

412
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,500
yourself and forcing yourself
into a position where it's like,

413
00:21:50,500 --> 00:21:52,400
this is the beautiful life that
I am creating.

414
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:56,900
This is the natural life that I
am creating and I can see how as

415
00:21:56,900 --> 00:21:59,100
you're sifting and sorting and
going through that process.

416
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,900
To that.
It really didn't mail it for you

417
00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:04,200
either.
And so, perhaps this next phase,

418
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,800
which is your chronic on story,
this is the new Evolution of it

419
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,100
being, okay, to be chronically,
anything, you know, it's like

420
00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:13,600
let's lift off the stigma.
Let's lift off the shame.

421
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,400
Let's give people an opportunity
to come together and celebrate

422
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,600
those winds.
However, big or small that they

423
00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,500
might be.
Yeah, so tell me about chronic

424
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:25,400
on tell our listeners what this
is and what they can expect

425
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:26,200
their.
Yeah.

426
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,100
So I launched chronicon in 2019.
It's a At form, that's dedicated

427
00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:34,200
to elevating the lives of those
living with a chronic illness.

428
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,800
A lot of people don't realize
almost half the population of

429
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:38,600
the United States has a chronic
illness.

430
00:22:38,700 --> 00:22:41,900
That's over a hundred and thirty
three million Americans.

431
00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:45,500
And a chronic illness is
anything that has persistent

432
00:22:45,500 --> 00:22:47,500
symptoms for three months or
longer.

433
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,500
So a lot of people might not
even realize they have a chronic

434
00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:53,000
illness, which happens actually
a lot.

435
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,200
They don't even know that they
can claim being a part of that

436
00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:00,000
population.
So I launched chronicon Is, I've

437
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,800
had multiple chronic illnesses
for most of my life and I

438
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,500
genuinely always felt like I was
the only one and I have people

439
00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:09,800
in my family that have chronic
illnesses and I still felt, they

440
00:23:09,808 --> 00:23:11,600
don't have the same ones that I
do.

441
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,400
They don't have the same
symptoms, you know?

442
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:18,800
So I still felt so alone in my
journey and it kind of just came

443
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,500
to an inflection point where I
was like, wait a second.

444
00:23:21,500 --> 00:23:25,000
I feel so alone are there.
Like not that many of us like,

445
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,600
what's happening, like, how come
and then I realized that there

446
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,100
are this many people people that
have a chronic illness and I

447
00:23:31,108 --> 00:23:34,800
just saw such a disconnect and
this such a disservice to all

448
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,500
the people out there that are
going through.

449
00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:39,000
So much of what I've gone
through with your son is gone

450
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,800
through and you you've gone
through As a caretaker and we

451
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,900
feel like there's something
wrong that we are the only ones

452
00:23:45,900 --> 00:23:48,900
or no one understands us or
we're doing this completely in a

453
00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:52,900
silo and I actually think of it,
very similarly to the curvy

454
00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:57,300
industry and how curvy women
would often meet owned by a lack

455
00:23:57,300 --> 00:24:00,600
of marketing and lack of
advertising and Commedia that

456
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,700
they don't get married, but they
don't go to work out classes

457
00:24:04,100 --> 00:24:06,800
that they don't go looking cute
at brunch, right?

458
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,400
They just ignored left out of
those conversations.

459
00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:13,300
And now of course, the curvy
Industries are 24 billion dollar

460
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:17,600
a year industry and they have
shown in a massive way that not

461
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,700
only do they do those things but
they're absolutely beautiful and

462
00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:23,300
they're thriving and their
multi-dimensional, they're not

463
00:24:23,300 --> 00:24:26,500
just curvy.
And so I really see that that's

464
00:24:26,500 --> 00:24:29,300
what is needed and what is
possible for us to come.

465
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:33,400
The feel folks, we deserve our
own industry that is dedicated

466
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,800
and really pervasive in the
meeting at in the landscape out

467
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,700
there, in a way that has a
skilled truly seen.

468
00:24:40,300 --> 00:24:44,700
So, chronicon is my answer to
that chronicon is our way of

469
00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:48,400
taking that step and saying, we
are here and we deserve to be

470
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,100
here.
We deserve to be marketed to, we

471
00:24:50,100 --> 00:24:53,200
deserve to be a part of
society's narrative in a

472
00:24:53,208 --> 00:24:55,700
positive way in a
multi-dimensional way and like,

473
00:24:55,700 --> 00:24:59,700
let's do something about that.
So, it's a conference and And

474
00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:01,800
community.
And yeah, it's the love of my

475
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,400
life honestly, that is super
special.

476
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,300
And so how does somebody Joy nor
are their criteria to be part of

477
00:25:09,308 --> 00:25:11,500
it?
We were having a conference in

478
00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:15,500
Brooklyn.
This fall October 28, and when

479
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:18,700
the tickets are available in
probably July, you follow at

480
00:25:18,700 --> 00:25:22,200
chronicon, official you'll see
notices are Instagram, so you

481
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,500
can join us there.
But there is an online

482
00:25:24,500 --> 00:25:27,700
community, as I mentioned and
that anyone in the world can

483
00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,300
join me, have people from all
over?

484
00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:31,400
The world.
You just have to sign up.

485
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,400
It's The Chronic on
community.com and it's a monthly

486
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,400
membership that we have a
criteria.

487
00:25:37,500 --> 00:25:41,300
If you read what's going on in
there and it resonates with you,

488
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,500
you're welcome to join.
We have people who are

489
00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:45,100
caretakers.
We have people who are

490
00:25:45,100 --> 00:25:48,100
facilitators, who are doctors,
we have people who have horse

491
00:25:48,100 --> 00:25:51,300
are actually chronically ill, so
I believe that we need to all

492
00:25:51,300 --> 00:25:53,800
come together.
And so it's open to whoever

493
00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:57,200
wants to join and especially if
you have a chronic illness and

494
00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,400
we have events every single
week, which is Amazing and we

495
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,100
also have content every single
day.

496
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,100
So it's a beautiful supportive
place to be.

497
00:26:05,300 --> 00:26:08,500
That sounds amazing.
Now, the Curious thing that I've

498
00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:11,900
come across with some particular
groups that I've been part of a

499
00:26:11,900 --> 00:26:14,200
groups on special needs that
I've been part of, I've been

500
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:17,500
part of my toe support groups
and things like that, and I've

501
00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:21,500
kind of come in and out of them.
Because I found that when I

502
00:26:21,500 --> 00:26:25,400
first had received, my son's
diagnosis, I was in this

503
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,300
panicky, I need to figure out
everything that I can possibly

504
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,600
figure out about this disorder
and what I can do about it.

505
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,700
I think that I was just in like
research and help me panic fix

506
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:38,900
mode.
And so I joined all of these

507
00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:41,700
different groups asking
questions and getting a lot of

508
00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:45,500
wonderful answers and then I
think As I Grew into it I was

509
00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:48,900
finding that it no longer serve
me at least some of the group's.

510
00:26:48,900 --> 00:26:53,400
They were kind of keeping me in
this space of overwhelm and of

511
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,000
hearing a lot of stories that
were keeping me in almost a

512
00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,900
place of helplessness.
And so For my own mental sanity

513
00:27:00,900 --> 00:27:02,000
and health.
I was like, you know what?

514
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,100
I feel like, maybe I can do this
on my own and so it was okay for

515
00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:09,500
a time of my life and I totally
think that it's great for

516
00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:11,600
people.
Those particular ones were great

517
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,100
for people who were looking for
answers, but it became

518
00:27:14,100 --> 00:27:17,400
exhausting like physically
exhausting for me to see a lot

519
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,700
of other people going through
their issues.

520
00:27:19,700 --> 00:27:22,900
And unfortunately, a lot of
children who are passing away

521
00:27:22,900 --> 00:27:25,800
and different things like that,
which for my own fragile

522
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,300
sensibilities, it became really
hard for me to take on that.

523
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,700
Additional emotion even though
it's like you want to help you

524
00:27:32,700 --> 00:27:35,600
want to do what you can but at
the same time you're also trying

525
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,600
to heal and deal with all of the
things that you're dealing with

526
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,500
at home.
Are there any tips or advice or

527
00:27:41,500 --> 00:27:44,500
are there any subsets that you
can think about or that you

528
00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:48,100
offer that are good for people
on the different stages of their

529
00:27:48,100 --> 00:27:50,800
healing Journeys?
That's such a great question.

530
00:27:50,900 --> 00:27:56,000
Konig on, is for the person who
is ready to learn what it means

531
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,800
for them to thrive in their
life, with their illness.

532
00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:01,300
And we have themes every single
month.

533
00:28:01,300 --> 00:28:04,200
The First theme of the year is
all about thriving with chronic

534
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:06,100
illness.
And we talked about how that

535
00:28:06,100 --> 00:28:08,700
word can even be triggering if
you have a chronic illness

536
00:28:08,700 --> 00:28:12,600
because sometimes we can that a
bad or we have awful brain fog.

537
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:15,300
We can barely get through a
meeting or whatever it might be,

538
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,300
but we talked a lot in that
month about how it is about

539
00:28:19,300 --> 00:28:20,800
knowing yourself.
Well enough.

540
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,900
So that, you know what that
means for you, in that moment.

541
00:28:23,900 --> 00:28:27,200
It's not about comparing it to
anyone else and so every single

542
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:30,600
month and every single day
chronicon, We talked about what

543
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,000
it means to celebrate our lives.
We have gratitude breads, we

544
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000
have friends about winning every
single week.

545
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,000
It's not that maybe we're doing
as much as the person next to us

546
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,400
or that we're doing as much as
we're doing before we got

547
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:44,600
diagnosed.
But it's about taking the

548
00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,600
opportunity.
Every chance we can to the focus

549
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:52,300
on what we are doing and focus
on how much we have grown you

550
00:28:52,300 --> 00:28:56,700
know, and I think so often when
you get a diagnosis I know this

551
00:28:56,700 --> 00:28:59,800
is definitely been the case for
me, you're just one of Did like

552
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,200
you're just a sick person, you
know.

553
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,200
And I think the thing was
chronicon is like we are

554
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,500
fighting every single day to
make sure that people know they

555
00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:11,900
are full human being seeing life
through the lens of the

556
00:29:11,900 --> 00:29:14,900
chronically ill, you know, and
having a chronic illness, but

557
00:29:14,900 --> 00:29:16,900
they're singing, We have arts
and crafts.

558
00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:19,600
We have a whole group that does
art projects together.

559
00:29:19,700 --> 00:29:22,300
We have different events.
We're learning about plants, and

560
00:29:22,300 --> 00:29:24,600
we're learning about burnout.
And we're learning about all

561
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:28,200
these different things that have
nothing to do necessarily with

562
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,200
the fact that we have.
Achilles has.

563
00:29:30,500 --> 00:29:32,300
We're always bringing that to
the Forefront.

564
00:29:32,300 --> 00:29:35,100
And we're always acknowledging
that there's nuances because

565
00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:37,700
we're living with certain
conditions, but it's so much

566
00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:39,400
more than that.
And I think that forms and

567
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,900
something I'm talking about,
I've experienced the same thing,

568
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,000
there's like for the medication
that I'm on, there's all these

569
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:50,000
forms, you know, you can go in
and it is terrifying and it's

570
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,000
terrifying.
And gives me so much anxiety, it

571
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,300
makes me so depressed.
And a lot of people who join

572
00:29:55,300 --> 00:29:58,100
chronic on say that they've had
that same experience.

573
00:29:58,100 --> 00:30:00,400
I chronicon is complete.
You different from that.

574
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,200
It doesn't mean you can't share
when you're having a tough time,

575
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:05,500
but we do have chronic on
instead of trauma.

576
00:30:05,500 --> 00:30:09,100
Dumping will do something like,
hey guys, I'm in the hospital,

577
00:30:09,100 --> 00:30:11,900
I'm having a crazy surgery.
Can you send me your cat

578
00:30:11,900 --> 00:30:16,500
pictures or can you send me your
pictures of your fur babies?

579
00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:19,200
You know what I mean?
So it's like we acknowledge it.

580
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,300
Like, this is annoying.
I have to get another surgery.

581
00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:26,400
And can you write in the feet
with some cute pictures of

582
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,400
infrared Rays?
You know, so that's kind of The

583
00:30:29,408 --> 00:30:31,800
difference and I think that's
such an important thing that you

584
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:35,600
bring up because a lot of people
are nervous to start and join

585
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,600
communities already dealing with
so much.

586
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,600
Like how am I gonna handle my
own paint along with holding

587
00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:42,500
everybody else's?
That's not more.

588
00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:45,700
Chronic pain is about.
Oh, that is so enlightening and

589
00:30:45,700 --> 00:30:49,000
I'm so happy to hear that
because yeah, it can be that

590
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,500
there is that misery loves
company component.

591
00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:54,900
So when you're feeling really
like helpless, there are

592
00:30:54,900 --> 00:30:58,800
probably places which will serve
you really well in that space

593
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:00,900
where you can.
You can just hold space and vent

594
00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:03,600
if you need to.
But then being part of a

595
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,100
community where it's nothing but
venting and nothing that people

596
00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:11,000
just commiserating doesn't help
Elevate you out of that place

597
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,400
and get you to that healing
place where we all want to stay

598
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,500
more positive and so yeah.
A freaking cat picture is

599
00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:20,900
amazing and uh, sometimes I want
to see happy puppies, like

600
00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:24,200
prancing down the hallway and
not that that's like ignoring

601
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,500
the problem.
It's just I versions are

602
00:31:26,500 --> 00:31:29,200
important, laughter is really,
it's medicine.

603
00:31:29,300 --> 00:31:33,600
In laughter and happiness, and
joy is medicine and any kind of

604
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:38,400
little bites of positivity that
you can get, can be super, super

605
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,500
helpful.
Yeah, we laugh a lot in a

606
00:31:41,508 --> 00:31:44,300
chronic own community and so
many people have become like in

607
00:31:44,300 --> 00:31:47,900
real life friends with people
that they met in online and it's

608
00:31:47,900 --> 00:31:49,800
just been, it's been such a
blessing.

609
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,600
So thank you very much.
It reminds me of the time.

610
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,600
My son was in the ICU and the
pqi Children's Hospital Los

611
00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,400
Angeles.
You know he had just been put on

612
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,200
life support.
And things were so dark and

613
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:05,200
gloomy, but then all of a sudden
for whatever reason, I decided

614
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,400
to put on rave music.
And I blasted it to the point

615
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,400
where the nurses started coming
into our room and dancing with

616
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,400
us.
And we were flashing the live

617
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,600
and it just need everybody crack
up.

618
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:21,100
It just was that little bit of
levity in what could be a crazy

619
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,500
situation where you just don't
know what's going to happen but

620
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:28,300
sometimes you just need that.
Absolutely.

621
00:32:28,300 --> 00:32:30,700
It's mobile.
It's really incredible.

622
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,600
Yeah, yeah.
Having lived with psoriasis and

623
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,800
also being a curvy girl, would
you ever have thought that you'd

624
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,600
see yourself on an advertisement
in a swimsuit and in New York

625
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,400
City bus sighs?
You're all now, tell me about

626
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:46,800
what this was like.
Absolutely not.

627
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,700
I would have never ever, ever,
ever guessed that.

628
00:32:50,700 --> 00:32:53,800
It's been really wonderful.
It's been really just such an

629
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,100
honor.
Honestly, the reason why I'm

630
00:32:56,100 --> 00:33:00,300
passionate about it is because
it really speaks to Creating

631
00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:02,800
that dialogue in that
conversation in media.

632
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,000
And when you can see it, right,
someone, another young girl who

633
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,200
has psoriasis sees me wearing my
bathing suit and being like,

634
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:12,800
whatever.
I'm up here, it's fine.

635
00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:16,400
That means that she can do that,
you know, and she can have more

636
00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:18,600
confidence.
And so that's why I think it's

637
00:33:18,608 --> 00:33:21,900
so important that we continue to
kind of fight through our own

638
00:33:21,900 --> 00:33:25,300
insecurities, just keep going.
And yeah, it's been.

639
00:33:25,300 --> 00:33:28,100
It's been such an honor to have
that experience.

640
00:33:28,500 --> 00:33:31,300
I think that It is so beautiful
and not only that.

641
00:33:31,300 --> 00:33:34,400
I mean, you are such a beautiful
person inside and out and so

642
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,300
absolutely.
You deserve that kind of

643
00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:38,500
Limelight.
There was a point in my career

644
00:33:38,500 --> 00:33:41,300
when I was working in the beauty
industry, for a very large

645
00:33:41,300 --> 00:33:45,200
company, and one of the board
members, who was one of the only

646
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:50,000
women in the company and upper
management said out loud, when

647
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,800
you're 50 and a woman, you
disappear, you are invisible.

648
00:33:54,500 --> 00:33:57,100
And I thought to myself, well
gosh, that's really sad at the

649
00:33:57,108 --> 00:33:59,800
time.
I was probably in my Already is

650
00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:01,600
and I was like, oh gosh, I don't
have much time.

651
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,200
And and what is it about?
This industry that makes people

652
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,300
feel like they are unworthy, or
they just don't deserve to be

653
00:34:08,300 --> 00:34:10,400
seen, you know, fast forward
here.

654
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,199
I'm 52 years old.
And we're on the same model

655
00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:15,100
board and I just can't believe
it either.

656
00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:18,100
You know, who would have ever
thought that a girl who's 52

657
00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:21,300
South Korean and over 50 would
ever be a model.

658
00:34:21,300 --> 00:34:24,800
That was just a completely
astounding moment for me when I

659
00:34:24,808 --> 00:34:28,500
got that call now.
Well, it's so fun to do this

660
00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:31,199
together.
I'm excited to see what it out

661
00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:32,800
of it.
It's like such a journey.

662
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,900
True, true.
So now I know that you've got

663
00:34:36,900 --> 00:34:40,500
probably lots of advice or
things that have worked for you

664
00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:43,800
and I never really like to give
advice myself because it's you

665
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,400
know, take what you want.
It's like if any of the things

666
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,199
that we say here on this podcast
or anything that you might see

667
00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:52,699
on a blog or whatnot, you know,
try it on like a new dress and

668
00:34:52,699 --> 00:34:55,400
if you think that it feels good,
then try it on and see what

669
00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:57,200
works.
But if it doesn't, then move on.

670
00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:59,200
But are there any things that
helped you?

671
00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:01,600
Along the way or anything that
you would impart as far as

672
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,600
wisdom that people living with
chronic illness and how to get

673
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:07,200
to a place of self-love.
Well, I'm with you on the not

674
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,400
giving advice thing I agree.
Yeah, I shy away from that a

675
00:35:10,408 --> 00:35:15,400
little bit, but what I will say
that's helped me is I think we

676
00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:21,400
often don't take enough time to
get quiet were so busy, and I

677
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:24,000
can be guilty of this too,
especially like when I'm having

678
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,800
a hard time that's like, when I
avoid getting quiet like more

679
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:32,900
and more, More.
And I just find that, that has

680
00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:37,300
probably been the biggest help
for me over the years, is no

681
00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:40,600
matter what's going on, whether
it's with my body, or in

682
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,100
relationships, or with work, or
whatever, it might be, just

683
00:35:44,100 --> 00:35:47,200
taking that time and whatever
getting quiet means for you.

684
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:51,000
So sometimes it's like I get
into bed, a little early and I

685
00:35:51,008 --> 00:35:54,600
just lie there and kind of pray
out loud or I kind of, you know,

686
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:58,100
talk to God out loud while I'm
trying to fall asleep or other

687
00:35:58,100 --> 00:36:00,000
times.
I turn off all Technology.

688
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,300
And I'll just take my water and
they'll sit by my view.

689
00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:05,700
And I'll look out and I'll be
like, okay, I'm just going to

690
00:36:05,700 --> 00:36:08,600
take in what's in front of me
and not focus on anything else.

691
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,800
So it really figure out what
feels good to you.

692
00:36:10,900 --> 00:36:15,600
But I really think getting quiet
allows us to Center into more

693
00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:20,700
kindness into more truth and
honesty with ourselves and have

694
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:25,200
a gentler or Kinder approach to
what we're navigating and like,

695
00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,700
what might be really, really
challenging in that moment

696
00:36:27,700 --> 00:36:31,200
versus trying to force and Push
and compare and feel like we

697
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,100
should be in a different place.
I honestly think just getting

698
00:36:34,100 --> 00:36:37,200
quiet and allowing herself that
really really makes a big

699
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,000
difference and it's something I
don't think we do enough.

700
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,700
So it's a really basic thing and
there's like a thousand other

701
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:44,400
things I can say.
But I think if you could do

702
00:36:44,408 --> 00:36:47,200
that, one thing, you would
probably feel a little bit more

703
00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:51,100
supported and a little better.
Yeah, I completely a million

704
00:36:51,100 --> 00:36:54,900
times endorse that statement and
I often say, you know, we are

705
00:36:54,900 --> 00:36:58,600
humans being not humans doing
and when we are humans doing

706
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:02,900
we're not Being for say and so
getting quiet, really gets us to

707
00:37:02,900 --> 00:37:05,700
that place where we're not
actioning, we're not forcing so

708
00:37:05,700 --> 00:37:07,800
much.
We're not thinking about all the

709
00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,800
things that are on our to-do
list, rather, we're thinking

710
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,100
about how do I want to be?
How do I want to feel?

711
00:37:13,100 --> 00:37:16,200
You know, what is my life like,
what do I want it to be?

712
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,100
Like, how am I serving myself?
How am I serving others?

713
00:37:19,100 --> 00:37:22,000
And and you start getting to
those bigger deeper questions

714
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,000
rather than being influenced by
everything that you see on your

715
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:30,600
screens and it helps you to be
more true to To yourself and to

716
00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:33,900
find what you really need and
what you really want, rather

717
00:37:33,900 --> 00:37:38,200
than being.
So, susceptible to a lot of the,

718
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:41,300
the news and things that are
happening elsewhere in the

719
00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:43,900
world, letting that impact our
emotions.

720
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,600
Yeah, well, nittaku Chopra, it
was a delight to speak with you

721
00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,000
today.
Thank you so much for all of

722
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,600
your wisdom and what you're
doing with chronic on everybody.

723
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:56,700
I invite you to follow nitta on
her website as well as on

724
00:37:56,700 --> 00:37:59,700
chronic on and Instagram.
I'll be putting all of Handles

725
00:37:59,700 --> 00:38:02,600
below so that you can find her
and we'll see you again for

726
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,000
another episode of Role Models
next week.

727
00:37:59,300 --> 00:38:02,500
Handles below so that you can
find her and we'll see you again

728
00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:05,000
for another episode of Role
Models next week.