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My Vitiligo Story | From Farhan Litt’s Diary

Farhan Litt, a 30-year-old sales professional from Kenya shares his vitiligo story.

Farhan Litt

My skin dapples differently every year. It’s a massive difference to witness. But, over the years, it has gotten easier to deal with vitiligo mentally. Today, I am living my life to the fullest and I am happy the way life turned out for me. However, it was a different story when I was first diagnosed with the chronic skin disorder.

I noticed my first vitiligo patch at the age of 10. At first, I didn’t understand what it was. My GP didn’t have any idea either so I was prescribed steroid creams, which I had to apply for the next 6 years. Whatever form of bullying I experienced in different forms; I took it all in my stride and dealt with the anxiety and depression as best I could.

It took me a long time to get used to living with vitiligo. I mostly used my own experiences to get through difficult times. Today, I own my vitiligo as I am proud of it. It doesn’t faze me. In fact, I think today I’m a better person because I have vitiligo. This is the reasons why I happily turn down treatments or creams to change my skin.

There are many things that people commonly get wrong about vitiligo. In my case, I have encountered many people who assume that my vitiligo is contagious. Some even get the impression that it must physically hurt me having those white patches. It may have something to do with that fact that people with vitiligo are often underrepresented in popular culture. One seldom sees a character with vitiligo in books or movies.

Having said that, I think there’s an element of social media bravado here. Since many models with vitiligo are coming to the fore, it’s much more widely accepted to have vitiligo now than it was 10 years ago. I’ve had so many people approach me about my vitiligo over the years and they always have such a positive outlook on it now. That wasn’t always the case but it’s getting better.

FYI, I am a senior sales professional with a flair for music. Since I was 5 years old, I’ve had a huge passion for music and the opportunity to turn it into something that brings people together. Whether it was playing drums for various teams across the world, DJing all over the country, producing tracks for several labels, putting out internet radio shows through a couple of stations or composing and arranging pieces for clients – I’ve loved every minute of it. For me, music is not only sound, but also a feeling, an emotion and satisfaction which connects me to the world around me.

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