249: Inspiring Vitiligo Personal Journey w/ Tonja Johnson

Did you know that June is Vitiligo Awareness Month?? My guest today shares her empowering, emotional personal story and shares how she became a Vitiligo Patient Advocate!

Today's guest, Tonja Johnson, exhibits creativity, innovation, and determination. She has persevered through many obstacles in life, which has fueled her passions. Tonja is the founder of Beautifully Unblemished, a vitiligo support group that was birthed in 2017 after a challenging time finding a local support group in the state of Florida.. Her passion and drive are inspired by her own experiences dealing with Vitiligo and learning to embrace the physical changes she faces daily. She is passionate about empowering individuals to love the skin they are in. In her spare time, she enjoys singing praise and worship, interior decorating, and traveling.

Join us as we discuss how to best SUPPORT someone with vitiligo and hear Tonja's journey.

In this episode:

• What is vitiligo and what symptoms do people commonly notice?
• Who is affected by vitiligo?
• Tonja's personal vitiligo journey and how it impacted her to the point of contemplating suicide
• How Tonja dealt with her diagnosis emotionally + mentally (Why it's NOT "just skin"!)
• The benefits of getting support especially if you feel ashamed of your vitiligo diagnosis
• How to support someone living with vitiligo

Quotes

“There IS treatment. There's no cure, but there IS treatment that gives a temporary relief, I would say, for someone that has vitiligo. And it can slow down the process of vitiligo if you get treated earlier.” [15:08]

“About three years into having vitiligo, I began to get depressed because the skin, my pigment was changing aggressively. I was losing my color, it seemed like every day, spots were appearing on my skin, and it was really devastating. I felt like I'd been given a death sentence. I knew it wasn't cancer, so it wasn't that bad, but it was emotionally a roller coaster, just trying to figure out the hows, the whys, where did it come from?" [2:06]

Links

Find Beautifully Unblemished online and on Instagram

Follow Tonja Johnson on Instagram + Facebook

World Vitiligo Day is June 25th! Learn more HERE.

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