International Women's Day: Chronicon Community

There is a movement underway, geared towards uplifting the millions of Americans living with chronic illnesses and disabilities. A movement that creates community between people who are ill and disabled, who might feel alone in their experiences with their symptoms. A movement that gives them hope,  support, strength, and ultimately, humanity.  

At the forefront of this movement is Chronicon , a for-profit company that serves as a live and digital destination for people within the chronically ill and physically disabled community. In this TONL Narrative, Darren spoke with Nitika Chopra, the Founder and CEO of Chronicon, about her experiences with chronic illness, and how those experiences shaped Chronicon’s mission. Right now, Nitika has three chronic illnesses: psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, but she also has a new diagnosis [as] a result of getting COVID. She has been dealing with her health since she was 10 years old.

 Image by Laurel Creative

Not only does Chronicon have a digital presence, but it’s also a conference and is the only conference in the world that unites and celebrates the chronically ill and disabled. They will be hosting their next big conference on May 19th in Brooklyn, NY. In reflecting on the community built, Darren also spoke with Kristin, a member of the Chronicon community, about how Chronicon’s community has shaped her experiences with chronic illness for the better. Read both their interviews below! 

TONL: What motivated you to start Chronicon? You mentioned that you’ve had a history with chronic illness since you were 10. What was the spark that ignited the Chronicon journey? 

Nitika: I always felt like I was completely alone in my experience [with chronic illness]. I have other  people in my family that had chronic illnesses, like a lot of families. It's not just one person, it's like,  someone has this or that. And I still felt so alone. For most of my life, I thought, maybe it was just me  that was having such a hard time. 

I started my professional career 12 plus years ago and I ended up doing a lot of stuff in media. I had my  own blog, I was on TV, I did a lot of stuff around self-love and wellness. But, I really felt like the person I  was meant to help was much more like me, and who had been through the exact things that I had been  through. But I didn't know if there were a lot of us out there, because no one was really talking about it.  

I found out through some research that there are over 133 million Americans with chronic illnesses that  we know of, right? That's not including people who don't have resources to get the help. That's not  inclusive of so many Black and Brown folks who the doctors blame for their chronic symptoms,  including so many people who have trouble getting diagnosed. And that number has increased since the pandemic; we don't know what that number is now. So, even still, almost half the population in the  United States is living with chronic illness.  

When I saw that number, I thought about how alone I felt. I just felt in my whole soul that there is  something wrong with that picture. So, I started Chronicon because I thought, this is not adding up. We deserve more; we deserve community.  

TONL: Can you tell me a little bit about some of the activities that Chronicon does to build community for people within the chronically ill and physically disabled communities? 

Nitika: Yeah! We have our main signature conference, which started in 2019. And of course, we had to  take a pause for the pandemic, but it's coming back in May here in Brooklyn. We're the only conference  in the world that unites and celebrates the chronically ill and disabled.  

We also have our online community, which is a huge part of what we do. We have members from all  over the world; people who are living with all different types of conditions. We have content every single  day in there; we have events every single week in there. It's an incredibly active, beautiful, engaged  [online] community.  

We're about giving people the emotional support [they need] with community friendship, resources, and  inspirational content so that they know that they can thrive in their life. That's really the biggest thing.  The chronically ill and disabled are often told that that's all they are, right? They’re only a sick person. But here at Chronicon, we're like, ‘no, no, no.’ You have an illness or a disability, yes. And we will honor  that, and we will make sure to treat you like you are carrying that load. But you also have the ability to  thrive in your life, whatever that looks like for you.  

TONL: As the Founder of Chronicon, how have you seen the impact of what you do; both for  the people in Chronicon’s community, and also in the larger community of disabled and  chronically ill individuals? 

Nitika: Yeah! The impact has been tremendous. And something that I will always be so proud of.  Because [chronically ill and disabled people] have to want to show up for [themselves]; [they] have to believe  that [they] are worthy of showing up for [themselves]. Here at Chronicon, that means getting to a  conference, or signing up to meet a member, or showing up at community events online and in-person.  

I have seen people [in the Chronicon community] start to get jobs that they couldn't even think of  getting before, because they felt like they were just a sick person, and they had no value. Because  that's what society was telling them. I've seen people start to date. I've seen people make new, real  friends and get support from people in their lives. And these things sound very basic, but they're not.  They're transformational.  

When people know that they have and are worthy of having this kind of support and love and  acknowledgement in their lives, it allows them to then go and live the life that they were meant to live.  And that is really the goal with Chronicon. There are so many people out there who are sick, who are lifeless in so many ways, because they just feel so beat down by their bodies, by their doctors, by their  families, and really by society. And so, they come to Chronicon and then can see that they can do so  much more; they’re actually meant for so much more. That has been the impact that I've known. We've  made that impact on so many people, and it's something that I'm incredibly proud of. 

To understand Chronicon’s impact further, Darren spoke with Kristin, a member of the Chronicon community,  about her experiences with chronic illness and how Chronicon’s community has given her the strength to  navigate live with her illnesses.

Kristin is 27 years old and works as a nanny. She has a lot going on as she navigates her health. She is partly undiagnosed, partly diagnosed, as she describes it. She has type one diabetes, rheumatoid  arthritis, gastroparesis, intestinal dysmotility, autoimmune small fiber neuropathy and then a bunch of unknowns. 

TONL: It sounds like things are in constant flux with you due to these diagnoses. When it  comes to your day-to-day life, what are some daily challenges, or maybe even some systemic  challenges that you might face with your disabilities? How have you overcome them throughout  your daily life? 

Kristin: In my day-to-day life, I don't have the greatest support system in my local area. I have tons of  online support, which is amazing. But when it comes to my personal life, I don't have a lot of assistance  that I need often, which often hinders me. But on the greater scheme of things, there is just a lack of  accessibility.  

I live in what's deemed as a historic town and the historic buildings have more rights than I do in terms  of getting inside. I can either lift my walker up the stairs, or go in through the back trash rooms to get  inside. If there are multiple levels, there's no going in at all. With getting the devices I need, my  insurance won't pay for a wheelchair because I need a motorized one but I'm only a part time chair  user. There's a lot of stuff in terms of accessibility that I struggle to find.  

However, I have found a lot of online support and it took a long time to find it. When I was first getting  sicker in recent years, I turned to the online world and it was hard to find people that had similar  symptoms or similar life experiences. I finally found some genuine human connection about two years  ago.  

TONL: Can you tell me how you found out about Chronicon? 

Kristin: I found out about Chronicon on accident. I was still following a mental health social media page  from when I had struggled when I was younger. I just randomly clicked on their Instagram Live with  Nitika, and I don't ever click on Instagram lives; they're not my thing. But I clicked on it. And the first  thing I heard Nitika saying was ‘chronic illness support.’ It caught my attention, and immediately after  the live, I signed up.

TONL: How would you say that your connection with Chronicon in the digital world has  uplifted and empowered you to tackle some of the challenges that you face in the real world? 

Kristin: Honestly, I love that within Chronicon we all have this mutual understanding that we're all sick.  And so, we don't necessarily dwell on how we're feeling. Yes, we acknowledge it because it's part of  what's going on with us, but it's not something that we collectively hyper-focus on. Okay, we feel like  crap, but how can we still feel empowered?  

We've had so many different events, like movement events for all levels [of mobility], some like art  groups, a book club… We have all these different things within the community that allow us to grow as  human beings doing human being things while chronically ill; rather than thinking, ‘I'm chronically ill,  what can I do?’  

TONL: What resonates with what you’re saying is the idea that, Chronicon isn’t about coming  together and thinking about some struggles that you might have; it’s about coming together to  celebrate life. The underlying connection is that you all have these kinds of chronic and  physical disabilities. But that's not the reason why you're all together, which is really impactful. 

Kristin: Yeah. I really appreciate the group. Because while we acknowledge that we have a lot going  on, there's not toxic positivity either. So often things can also swing the total opposite extreme in these  communities and things can come across as almost unattainable with how positive everyone tries to be.  It's amazing how we can simply be and we're all meeting each other where we're at. 

I personally when I joined was in a very dark place. I didn't have my license and I had basically no  friends. And then I joined the community. There were times I felt discouraged because I saw so many  other members living their lives doing ‘grown up jobs,’ as I called them. There were times I was not  quite ready for it. But there is still that level of hope within the community that I stuck around for. And  since joining, the level of empowerment I have felt…  

I now have my license again, and I'm a nanny, and I am trying to help encourage other people. It's nice  that we can simply meet each other where we're at and grow together as humans. 

To get your tickets to Chronicon and to learn more about this amazing community, visit Chronicon !