Here's Why Celebrities Talking About Rare Disorders Makes Ordinary People Feel Heard

Connecting with their fans and followers via social media is a blessing for celebs in this era. They use their community to express their opinions, promote their brands, and whatnot. This community strength powers them to talk about less talked or taboo issues, one such is a rare disorder. As far as one took it as a strength to share their vulnerabilities, there also came some fears. 

Recently, Shenaz Treasury, an actor and former MTV VJ opened up about her rare disorder of prosopagnosia. She posted on her Instagram story, "I have been diagnosed with prosopagnosia. Now, I understand why I've never been able to put faces together." She further mentioned in her story how it is a real brain issue and not the person being dumb and snobbish. 

To give her fans an instant about how people who are diagnosed with prosopagnosia use hair as a "memory cue." She wrote in her story, "Many people with face blindness use hair as a way to remember people. When a person's hair changes, that memory cue is lost." Unfortunately, many of us had never even heard the term, so the question about being aware of such a rare disorder goes into dust.

How do celebs take help to start a conversation around rare disorders?

In today’s era, one who has a massive fan following and influence on the people is the one, who got to hear themselves. So, when a celebrity with more than hundreds of real-life people following them on social, acknowledges having a certain rare disorder, it gives voice to those normal people who are left unheard. It makes ordinary people like you and me feel heard.

Yet, it doesn’t mean that celebs having some disorder means they are any more vulnerable than you, but it certainly gives a face of recognition to those who never got the chance to speak up. Further encouraging the amount of self-esteem and confidence to talk about it openly to their family, friends and colleagues, while simultaneously seeking medical support and professional help.

Suggested Reading: What Is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome? Justin Bieber Diagnosed With Partial Face Paralysis

More and more celebs are talking about rare disorders

Earlier in the month of June, Pop-singer Justin Bieber told his fans that he has been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome leading to partial face paralysis. Most of us had never before heard of the disorder but after Justin came up to his fans, the number of google searches deliberately increased.

After which Indian television actor, Aishwarya Sakhuja, also has spoken out about her battle with the virus that causes partial face paralysis. In Bollywood itself, many actors talked previously about their conditions of rare disorders. PCOS as it is called is not a rare disorder but yet a taboo. 

Sara Ali Khan has been caught on a few occasions talking about her experience and living a life with PCOS. PCOS certainly did not become important or worthy of talking about after she talked about it on national television but it certainly got the voice that young girls and women dealing with it do not have.

When a famous person admits to having a certain rare disease, it offers those who have been diagnosed a chance to speak up. It gives everyday people a sense of being heard.

The need of the hour for all of us living together as a society is to be kind to each other and understand what people might be going through. Shenaz Treasury talked about it recently, but they are people already living their life with it. They could have not been in a position to explain it to everyone but we all are in a position to be kinder and generous towards each other. So, learn more about the disorders people around you are living with!

The views expressed are the author’s own.