Social media has negatively affected many young people’s body confidence, according to mental health professionals.
For years, many teens have struggled with keeping a positive outlook about their personal appearance, given that others appear flawless online.
California resident Jessie Wolinsky is learning to change her mindset in a major way — and hopes to empower others, too.
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Wolinsky is a 30-year-old social media influencer who is slowly losing her eyesight, Jam Press reports.
At the age of seven, Wolinsky was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare eye diseases that affects the retina.
The disease involves cells in the retina that break down over time — eventually leading to total vision loss, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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Learning about the diagnosis was difficult to comprehend, said Wolinsky, as Jam Press noted.
“[As a teenager], I was just kind of a happy-go-lucky kid who had all these envision[ing]s about my future,” she said in a YouTube video posted to Shera, a platform dedicated to empowering women, as Jam Press reported.
“After that,” she continued, “I really truly felt like there was no way that I would be able to have any sort of life.”
The social media influencer struggled with drugs, alcohol and suicidal thoughts as her vision declined, she said.
“It’s been a long journey to get to where I am now … to find happiness in my life,” she added.
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The influencer has no peripheral vision and describes her eyesight now as “tunneling in slowly.”
Wolinsky has learned to live with the disease and is gaining confidence in different ways.
“Going blind has really flipped that on its head for me because one day, I’m not going to be able to see what I look…
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