Single mother Lyla King had to quit her job due to challenges with her body that no longer allowed her to work. The medical diagnosis is functional neurological disorder, a brain issue that causes physical symptoms like numbness, seizures, and temporary paralysis.
This condition is often called conversion disorder, but doctors used to simply call it hysteria, believing it was not a physical ailment. The medical profession knows better now, even though the cause still isn’t entirely known. Sometimes, trauma causes the disorder. Other times, it’s a sort of “computer glitch” in the person’s brain.
“It’s very much mental health related, but it’s also genuinely real because a part of my brain shuts down when I get too stressed,” King explains. “That’s when this neurological disorder manifests in physical symptoms, so managing my stress is crucial.”
King faced significant stress and body challenges earlier in life as well. During her teenage years, normal hormonal changes went into overdrive, disrupting her high school life.
“I went from an A cup to a C cup when I was 11 in seventh grade. I was bullied because many of my classmates thought I was stuffing my bra,” King says. “By ninth grade, I couldn’t buy bras at stores anymore, so I became an E cup. I’m now a P cup.”
When this second body challenge interfered with her life, King realized she had to make lemonade out of life’s lemons. She learned to accept her body and became a social media content creator. She started making short videos on Instagram and TikTok, using taunts she’d heard throughout her life to show she wasn’t bothered by them. In a recent video, King confidently displays the words “You’d be prettier if you just lost weight” on the screen. She leans forward while a singer coons, “It’s not so bad,” and she mimics playing the “world’s smallest violin” with her thumb and index finger to the camera.
“I’m happy, healthy, and comfortable in my own skin,” King says in the comments on her Instagram account.
Life wasn’t always this good for King. As a single mom, she had to give up her regular job as a housekeeper at the local hospital. Staying home without an income wasn’t relaxing, as poverty is rarely a pleasant experience. King and her children eventually moved into subsidized housing.
“I ended up on disability because I couldn’t work with my hands. I would be doing something and suddenly drop what I was holding because I couldn’t feel anymore,” Lyla says. “My hands and fingers had gone numb. Becoming a stay-at-home mom became my path. I had to choose it since I couldn’t rely on my hands to make a living anymore. I took the opportunity because it seemed like the brightest future available.”
This is a story of a woman’s determination and resilience. King tried her hand at creating content for social media. She used her body, the one that had sabotaged her life over and over and made videos capitalizing on what had been ridiculed in her teen years.
Initially, she faced backlash from most of her family for this choice. Her parents eventually recognized her dedication and returned to her side. King’s luck also changed when one of her TikTok videos went viral last fall, racking up nearly 300,000 views.
Despite these initial obstacles, Lyla’s success has enabled her to build a sustainable online business. She started to invest in her children’s education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities to keep their future secure.
King’s endeavor has become more than just a way to support her children. Her videos and posts also help other women feel better about themselves. In the social media realm, which reflects society as a whole, King challenges the messages of unrealistic body images. Instead, she urges women to reject the idea that they are only attractive in the ways society approves. She inspires all people to embrace themselves and their bodies.
“The videos have made me more confident,” Lyla points out. “My boobs used to be a major insecurity for me. Because of their size, I thought I looked weird for a long time. With all the attention from social media and the nice things my subscribers say, I definitely feel more confident and comfortable in my own skin.”
Her latest achievement is becoming a model for the SuicideGirls platform. They are defined as “exceptionally interesting and stylish beautiful women from all over the world. They are the most crush-worthy women we could find on the planet, the girls with style and grace and sexiness that we love.”
This additional exposure gives King even more reach with her videos, where she shares her authentic experiences about embracing her body and her true self, inspiring others to do the same.
