It ain’t easy being flaky.

Many of us take our skin for granted. It’s just skin, it’s just there, who cares? But the skin is one of the most vital organs in the human body, and when something is outwardly different about it, people take notice.

Psoriasis probably doesn’t sound that bad to somebody who doesn’t have it. It’s just flaky skin, right? Sure, in very minor cases, it’s just flaky skin. But growing up with psoriasis means having skin that requires constant maintenance and micromanagement, which can wear on you pretty hard. You need to comb flakes out of your hair and you need to make sure to wear clothes and use products that don’t irritate your skin. Granted, flaky skin probably won’t kill you, but dying isn’t what someone growing up with psoriasis worries about. It’s the social connotations that loom over them. Everyone knows how cruel kids can be; all they need is one little thing to hone in on (like flaky skin), and suddenly your life becomes a lot harder.

When something that definitively differentiates you from your peers follows you your entire life, it takes a lot of time and effort to become comfortable with yourself. Remember, it doesn’t truly matter what other people say about you. You can be proud of yourself, flakes or no flakes.