Strength

Menstruation - The subject is so taboo as if it’s a crime to have periods! In my own fairly educated middle class family, women took great pride in following the custom of 5 days’ isolation. There was a separate mattress for the menstruating woman. The woman couldn’t enter the kitchen, couldn’t touch anything, was made to sit separately in a corner for 5 days. What exactly happens inside the head of a teenage girl when we period shame her? Period shaming can create a havoc in the world of a little girl. At the age of menarche (when a girl starts to menstruate), girls not only have to deal with the physical changes in their bodies but also have to manage their studies at school and focus on the academics. As mothers/parents/ relatives, our role is to guide the little girl into womanhood and make her comfortable with the process of menstruation. 'One hundred and thirteen million adolescent girls between the ages of 12-14 in India alone are at risk of dropping out of school b...

I am SINGLE . More than circumstances; I believe it is a choice. It is so natural for humans to “move on with time” and sometimes to “get heal and move on” or “move on and get heal”. After the continuous efforts of “Move on and heal cycles” and 1 marriage, I decided to look below the surface, which made me both happy and sad; as for all     (a lot of effort) is immensely liberating. 5 years and few months of effort later, I can say that I have started getting heal beneath the surface and now ready to move on. I am a single woman and at the age of 31, being single is not said to be good by the “so called society”, while you live in a country like - India. (Well, I know it’s much similar everywhere in the world, but Indians seemed to be too captivated with marriage traditions). Let’s be Honest! I know I am at a much better point in life as I know that I am among those blessed ones who have made mistakes, most importantly have been given the arena to l...

Girls & Women with Bleeding Disorders Today, I want to write a post on bleeding disorders and hope. I am sure every single one of you reading this post has a story to tell. Blood disorders do not discriminate on the basis of gender. Women are just as likely as men to bleed. But the effects may not be equal. One thing with hemophilia, and it relates to other bleeding disorders, is the perception that women don’t have bleeding disorders. Hemophilia is an x-linked disorder, so men are more severely affected, but women can also be affected with hemophilia, and they can have other bleeding disorders. Women with bleeding disorders face added challenges, including serious impacts to their reproductive health and delayed or failed diagnosis. "Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women" A carrier is a female who has the genetic mutation for hemophilia on one of her X chrom...

Have you ever noticed how often the challenges we face also contains a blessing in disguise? If not, perhaps you haven’t been looking closely enough! Granted, life’s challenges usually seem like inconveniences when they interrupt our schedules, or get in the way of something we want to do. Isn’t that part of the reason we call them challenges? When we’re working toward an important goal, the last thing we want is to face big, unexpected challenges or obstacles . When that happens, it usually means a major delay, added learning curve, greater expense, or some other unplanned complication. When we are focused on results it is hard to appreciate the detours caused by new challenges. A lot has been going on around here lately and I thought I would check in with readers, tell them where I’m at right now, where my focus is, and give you an update on where this space is heading. Sometimes it’s so hard to pen down your thoughts because even words aren’t enough to describe the way yo...

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. Its about learning to dance in the rain... Depression   is a mental health disorder. Specifically, it is a mood disorder characterized by persistently low mood in which there is a feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Once you stop believing in a better tomorrow, you’re in trouble. Mood Swaying is the proof that I have always rebounded from depression. “On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% and that’s pretty good.” From the outside it may look like malingering, bad temper and ugly behavior – and who can empathize with such unattractive traits? Depression is actually much more complex, nuanced and dark than unhappiness – more like an implosion of self. In a serious state of depression, you become a sort of half-living ghost. So how is this misleadingly named curse different from recognizable grief...

Hemophilia and Social Security Disability “Not every Disability is visible” "Its not our DISABILITIES; Its our ABILITIES that count" Hemophilia is a group of genetic disorders that affect the blood’s ability to  clot normally. Those with hemophilia have to be careful to avoid situations in which they could be cut because they have a difficult time stopping bleeding once it starts. Those with hemophilia don’t necessarily bleed more severely than others, but they tend to bleed much longer because the blood does not effectively clot. People with severe hemophilia can bleed for several days – or even weeks – from cuts and scrapes that would be considered minor for those without the disorder. There is currently no cure for hemophilia. It can be treated by factor replacement infusions, which medically add the blood factors that aid in clotting and coagulation. Depending on the type and severity of hemophilia, infusions may be given regularly or as needed. ...