The Insecurities Of A Girl With PCOS In A Country Obsessed With Perfection In Women

We live in a country (actually world) where beauty standards are everything. Fairness creams, anti-aging creams, brightening creams, laser treatments are shoved down our throats.

They are advertised on glossy papers and bulletin boards, in pink alphabets and glitter. Beti, shave your legs, wax this, thread that. Beti, you have pimples, use this- it will clear your face. Beti, join the gym. ARGH!

Then I got diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I must have been around 18 and since then it’s not been the same.

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Having no idea of the disease at the time I asked my mother what it was. She explained it to me in layman terms saying, “It’s basically a disorder in which women may have irregular periods or sometimes even no periods at all. Mostly it is characterised by having multiple cysts in your ovaries.”

Because of the elevated androgen levels in my body, I started growing facial hair, my sideburns grew longer than usual and what resembled a beard started growing on my chin. Aunties from the colony would come up to me and in their ‘concerned’ way would tell me to undergo hair removing treatments.

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Because who likes a hairy girl, you know?

By the age of 21, pimples started sprouting up on my once clear skin. It filled my forehead and cheek, I was once again given advice on how effective ‘no pimple, no marks’ creams were.

It reached a point that looking into the mirror was a part of my worst nightmare. I would avoid any of them as I walked, too ashamed of the face that would look back at me.

Then came the weight. My stomach started bloating, and my skin fitted jeans became too tight. One day my mom walked into my room, looked at me trying on the new clothes I had just bought and said,

“Baby, right now it’s fine. But you know you won’t be able to wear this kind of clothes if you put on more weight. Join the gym na, it’s for your health.”

As my mother, she too had her own concerns about my health. She was scared about the irregular periods I was having and that I may not be able to have a child later on in life. It was not only a nightmare for me but for her too!

I would then hear whispers around me. In hushed voices, my college classmates would say, “Oh God! Poor girl, has hair and pimples. Plus she’s so fat. And why does her voice sound so manly?”

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I’d cry myself to sleep sometimes. Paint my face with a layer of makeup, go to the parlour to get myself groomed. I did try my best to make myself ‘perfect.’

However, over the years I understood that there is no point hating myself or others for the comments they made on my physical appearance. I decided to take action.

I decided to get myself regularly checked, take medical advice, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and be aware that we’re progressing; it’s 2018 and there are medicines that can help me in this journey.

While we’re on the topic of medicine, take for example Furocyst, which is available in India, I take it to correct the hormonal imbalance in my body and it also pushes me into living a healthier lifestyle. It’s a patented natural dietary supplement without any chemicals or side-effects. And it has helped me manage my condition surprisingly well, to be honest.

So my dear ladies, don’t let PCOS rule your life. Grab it by its horns.

And while insecurities are something you’ve to fight yourself, these little things will just make your path towards being fitter a little easier.

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