Many people also report that the skin condition impacts theirconfidence and self-esteem.
Living with a chronic condition likepsoriasiscan sometimes feel isolating.
I felt like I was constantly being judged.
Luigi D’Onofrio/Adobe Stock
Juliana S., 40, Minnesota-based hairstylist
I developedpsoriasisa few months after I had my daughter.
It started in my scalp and was extremely itchy.
My hands are constantly on display as a hairstylist.
And it just hurt so bad.
There were times when my hands weredry and crackedto the point they were bleeding.
I love my job, Im super passionate about it.
There were times at work when I would wear gloves because I felt so uncomfortable with people noticing it.
You notice people staring at it.
Theres also just the uncomfortable uncertainty of being out in public.
When theres a bad breakout, how do you hide your hands?
I felt embarrassed that it was on display.
The itching also causes some anxiety.
Theres always something on your body to scratch, which makes you feel uncomfortable in public.
So if I was having a particularly bad flare-up, I started letting my clients know what it was.
Most of the time, they would actually say that somebody in their life had it.
I developed this perfectionist, controlling mentality.
I dressed conservatively and was a master at covering up my psoriasis, but I always wore matching outfits.
And I developed a very controlling personality.
I had a lot of perfectionist tendencies and was very critical of things.
When youre insecure about something on your body, you become hyperaware of it on other people.
I really had to work hard intherapyto get through that.
When I was younger and had a really large breakout, Id get really sad and depressed.
Im a huge advocate fortherapy.
Being able to separate myself from my skin condition and knowing that nobodys perfect was really big for me.
Ive gone to therapy since I was 14 years old, when it was really bad.
Im onbiologicsnow, so my psoriasis rarely flares.
Its not something I think about on a day-to-day basis anymore.
But in February I had one of the worst flare-ups since I was a teenager.
This time, it wasnt as stressful for me.
I was just like, Okay, my skin is doing that thing again.
Ill take medicine, and it will go away.
I know that there are so many things I can be proud of outside of the way I look.
I was so self-conscious of my psoriasis that I hid it from everyone.
As I got older, I struggled specifically with my appearance andeating disorders.
I always assumed everyone knew and saw, and I felt like it was the elephant in the room.
A lot of time.
I used to hate showering because Id have to look at my skin.
Damini Mistry, 26, U.K. blogger atDamini Blogs
I was diagnosed withpsoriasiswhen I was six years old.
At the time, it was on my elbows, knees, and behind my ears.
I then had my first severe flare-up when I was in my early teenage years.
Psoriasis covered 90% of my body.
This was a very confusing time for me.
In my late teens, my psoriasis started calming down.
But then, towards the end of university, I had another severe flare.
My skin was covered overnight.
And it drastically affected my confidence.
I avoided all social activities.
It was the first time during mypsoriasisjourney that psoriasis badly affected on my face.
I covered up with high-neck and long-sleeve tops.
I wore neck scarves.
I wore my hair a certain way to cover as much of my skin as possible.
I started blogging about my journey because I wanted to embrace my skin.
I no longer wanted it to be something I hid; something that restricted my life.
Blogging and actively getting involved with the community slowly helped me gain my confidence back.
