“Having severe psoriasis and being a curvy girl, I never thought I’d be on a beach in a swimsuit, forget on an advertisement on the NYC subway,” exclaims chronic illness activist Nitika Chopra. Diagnosed with the autoimmune disease at age 10, Chopra had to fight her way to better health—both mental and physical—and now works to help other people reach there. “When my psoriasis was at its worst, it was from the tip of my toes to the top of my head. Almost 98 per cent of my body was covered in it. Then psoriatic arthritis started to develop, my bones started to deform, I couldn’t walk,” she says. As she began to heal, she had to learn to change the way she thought about her body, and rethink the lifestyle she wanted to lead. Now, at age 38, Chopra is a life coach, public speaker, founder of a chronic disease convention and recently, model for swimsuit brand SummerSalt. A week after her advertisement campaign hit the New York City subway platforms, Nitika Chopra reveals the five things she learnt from the lowest and toughest parts of her journey.
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Create a self-care routine
“When I started practicing self-care to deal with stress, pain and anxiety, I didn’t really have the money to go to the spa, get a fancy facial or indulge in weekly mani/pedis. I just wanted to take care of myself, and find control in the craziness I was living in. I am introverted and sensitive, so simplifying my day is the best way for me to feel taken care of. I like to start every morning planning my day, so I feel in control and prepared for what is coming. I pencil in breaks, time to eat food, time to nap and time to enjoy my hobbies. I think that making yourself a priority is the most important thing in the world. You need to know yourself well enough to know what nourishes you, so that’s the first step. I like to indulge in good food that serves me, a skincare routine that makes me feel taken care of, and leisure time that fills me up.”
Learn to forgive yourself
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“For a person who is struggling with a chronic disease, or even simply a condition that makes them feel less than—like acne, weight issues or hair loss—telling them to forgive themselves feels almost impossible. You feel like you’ve been put in a position that you don’t deserve. But I think you need to focus on having compassion for your own body. Just think about what your body is healing and how much turmoil it’s going through. This will release the deep-seated shame as well as the stress and frustration you feel.”
Build a community
“Find people that know you for you—the people that want to hang out with you for your heart, and your laugh, despite your illness or shortcomings. But also, surround yourself with people who know what you’re going through, and want to help you fight it. In terms of social media, I’ve got 30,000 people who see me as I face everything in my life. I have compartmentalised the ego side and service side of it. I have to ground myself every time I post a photo—am I posting it to help someone, or am I posting it to have someone feed my ego and tell me I’m pretty? It helps to view [social media] as a vessel to teach people something. I do think that celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga [who shared their struggles with psoriasis, lupus and fibromyalgia respectively] being open about their journeys also helps in reducing the stigma around it. We’re not a niche market—they’re making it okay to talk about.”
Let your experiences guide you
“It is difficult to say what I would do if it wasn’t trying to help people. Everything I went through shaped my life and worldview so deeply. I am in the process of creating Chronicon, a conference and meet-up in New York for people who have chronic illnesses and want a safe haven to talk about them. I want to host several events a year, have a virtual presence, multiple platforms, maybe even branch into merchandise.”
Step into the unknown
“My first thought when I got the call from SummerSalt was that I’m definitely not a swimsuit model. But then I got to thinking, who even is a swimsuit model? I was nervous about it, but it worked out so well. I spent the whole week thinking that I was feeling swollen and my inflammation was off the charts, but I went there and did it anyway. It teaches you that sometimes you just have to get out of your head and do something that scares you.”
Also read:
Kim Kardashian West goes makeup-free to show fans her ‘psoriasis face’
How my fibromyalgia diagnosis taught me to put my health first
