Having psoriasis can affect relationships with friends and partners. Young people talked about the ‘negative’ ways psoriasis had affected some of their relationships, such as feeling self-conscious which can make it hard to meet people and socialise. Stress and upset from arguments with friends and partners were sometimes a trigger for flare-ups. There were also ‘positive’ aspects talked about, like help from friends and partners with using topical treatments and emotional support. Others didn’t think psoriasis had much of an impact on their friendships and relationships.
Megan says she lost a lot of friends when she was younger. She tried to educate her peers when she started secondary school.
Megan says she lost a lot of friends when she was younger. She tried to educate her peers when she started secondary school.
Age at interview: 16
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 7
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It got really hard in like Year Five when loads of people were being really mean. Because they didn’t know what it was, they'd bully me because they didn’t know. So, instead of asking me what it was, they thought it was better just to call me names, and be horrible.
And I remember telling my mum that I didn’t want to go to school. So, I had quite a lot of time off cos I didn’t want to go in because of people like saying stuff to me. But it wasn’t-, I don’t think it's like my skin that affected me at that time; I think it was the fact that loads of people were bullying me. And when I was little, I wanted to be like well liked; like you know when you're a child you want to be well liked.
And then, as soon as like Year Five come, I lost like nearly all of my friends because of it, because of all the bullying, then everyone got involved, and thinking that they were like the better people by sticking up for the others, so I lost mostly everyone.
Wow
So, I didn’t want to go to school or anything.
And then what happened when you moved to secondary school?
I had to explain to everyone. I explained to my whole tutor group on the first day what it was, and it wasn’t contagious and everything. And then I got-, some people said comments like sometimes, but nothing really happened in secondary school. Like people always come up to me like, "Oh what's that on your face?" and everything, but I felt like I could tell them because I'd had more experience than when I was in primary school. I didn’t even know in primary school; I just sat there listening to my mum and the doctor, and I'd only pick up on certain things, but as I got older my, like understanding, got better, and then I used to research it more, like, and more, so that I knew more about it, so if anyone asked me I'd be prepared to answer them.
Steven’s friendships haven’t been negatively impacted by having psoriasis.
Steven’s friendships haven’t been negatively impacted by having psoriasis.
Age at interview: 22
Sex: Male
Age at diagnosis: 14
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Could you tell me a bit about whether psoriasis affects your friendships, generally?
I think for me it doesn't I can see how it could. But, for me, I’ve never really had, all my friends are quite supportive and I think that’s why I’ve picked them as friends, so to speak and like, there’s been the odd comment, but I don’t think they like mean it. And it’s got to the point where most of my friends are happy to like joke about it now and I’m happy for them to joke about it. Y’know like, we were talking about a dragon and, and scales or something and someone mentioned like a lizardy thing like shedding its scales. And someone went, “Oh, just like you Steven, ha, ha.” And like, people could get upset about that, undoubtedly. But, it was someone that’s very close to me and it was funny and I just kind of had to like take that as funny. But I can see how people would be like upset and friendships could be like on the rocks from it, definitely.
Talking (or not) to friends and partners about psoriasis
Some people were comfortable being open with friends and partners about their psoriasis, others preferred to keep it to themselves. Sometimes people said their friends, partners or housemates didn’t ask about psoriasis much and so they didn’t often talk about it. For those who wanted to tell others, they were often unsure about how to go about it. Damini thinks telling a partner is “a conversation that you don’t know how to bring up”. Adam says he doesn’t tend to tell people he has psoriasis “unless I really kind of trust someone or unless I know that someone has like similar kind of [body image] vulnerability”.
Abbie talked to her partner about her psoriasis when she started phototherapy.
Abbie talked to her partner about her psoriasis when she started phototherapy.
Age at interview: 20
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 10
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Well I just kind of -, I've only really mentioned it a few times for some relationships; some people just haven’t really asked but it was more someone that didn’t really ask much questions anyway, whereas like the relationship that I'm in now I did mention to him at the start of the year, cos obviously I had to say that I've got hospital appointments and he's like, "Why have you got hospital appointments?" So, I had to go in a little bit more detail but he's been really supportive over it and he'll always be like, "Oh it's getting better, you can see how much difference it has made," and he has been really supportive over it. But just in past, just one of those things I've just kind of avoided talking about, it, it's there; I've just got bad skin and that is it.
And just kind of left it.
Hannah didn’t tell her friends about having psoriasis for several years. She tried to keep her psoriasis hidden while at university, which meant it took her longer to get ready before going out.
Hannah didn’t tell her friends about having psoriasis for several years. She tried to keep her psoriasis hidden while at university, which meant it took her longer to get ready before going out.
Age at interview: 24
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 16
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Like it took me a long time to admit to my friends that I had psoriasis. Like if I got it at16 I probably didn't tell people till like 21. And I, when I graduated from university like I was probably more confident and started to care less and less about kind of like what people thought and the sort of social side of it. And I was kind of over the stage of my life where I was going out all the time and like, you know, I kind of moved back home and then did start to tell people. But yeah, so for so long I wanted to kind of like keep it this secret, so that when I was out, it didn't sort of exist and it wasn't part of my life. And I got quite good at hiding it, so when I did tell people, like most people didn't know that that was even happening, so.
How did you feel about that sort of hiding it and not being able to speak to anybody about it?
Yeah it was, it was difficult and it was frustrating like I said earlier about having to spend so much longer getting ready. Those kind of things frustrated me because you want, you, there was no like spontaneity. You couldn't just decide ‘I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna see this person’. You had to really think about it, you had to really think about what you were gonna wear. Because I was still in that stage where I didn't want anyone to know that I had it, so I had to work really hard to make it look like I didn't have it. So you're kind of in that cycle where-, if I'd been honest maybe I wouldn't have had to spend so long getting ready because it, you know, if you could see a bit it wouldn't matter. But it, it's just one of those things of a skin condition where you just, you find it unattractive and you're always going to find it unattractive. You're never gonna wake up one day and think ‘psoriasis actually looks really great’. Like you're always gonna find it unattractive and want to kind of, like suppress it as much as possible so that people don't notice.
Simon prefers not to talk about psoriasis and focus on other things.
Simon prefers not to talk about psoriasis and focus on other things.
Age at interview: 22
Sex: Male
Age at diagnosis: 17
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I don’t really like complaining about my psoriasis to friends and family anyway because I don’t feel like it should be very much of a problem and plus it comes across a bit whiney. I think the only reason why I would complain is when I just, when it just gets to me. Because there are those days when you could be doing something and your arm can start itching for example and you could start scratching and then you’ll notice just how sore it is and you’ll wish, I wish that I didn’t have this. And then if you’re not careful then that can start snowballing into something like you know, ‘I wish I didn’t have this, I wish I could just cut it off and be done with it, [uh] I wish weren’t born with this altogether, why me?’ And you do start to really think about these things that’s when you have to be really worried about how it can affect you.
What do you sort of do in those situations to stop it from snowballing, snowballing with those kind of thoughts?
The only thing I guess I really did with it was just immediately, to, just to try to think about something else, like I’d focus on doing my homework even more for example I’d literally just do whatever I can to take my mind and my eyes off it. Because as the old saying goes, ‘out of sight, out of mind’. And it worked, especially in this case because as soon as I stopped noticing it then it’s more or less back to normal. Relatively.
The symptoms of psoriasis, especially on visible body parts, can make it difficult to keep private. One of Steven’s friends was the first to notice skin flaking from the scalp, which prompted him to see a doctor and get a diagnosis. Zara had to wear trainers in gymnastics at school to protect her feet, which made her stand out from everyone else as they were bare foot.
Abbie worries about other people noticing her psoriasis.
Abbie worries about other people noticing her psoriasis.
Age at interview: 20
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 10
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I feel that because being female and having it and especially some places, females can be a lot more conscious and we do like to hide a lot of things. Especially having like , like friends and wanting to be in a good friendship group and males and want -, at this age wanting to get relationships and stuff, that it can be a little bit, 'Oh well I don’t wanna be able to show this cos people might see me and be like, "Oh what, what's going on?"’ So, I was like always conscious of that which is why I'd like to cover up and sometimes I got -, I did get like a small patch on my eyebrow so I'd always make sure that I wore, I wore make-up to try and draw attention to that. I don’t bother wearing make-up much anymore but I'd always just make sure that I'd -, if I wore make-up then I'd look nice.
And I'm always one of those that I'd always wear nice clothes so that people didn’t feel -, I'd look nice and it kind of just draws it away a little bit, and it'll draw my attention away from it especially if I'm going out to new places, meeting new people.
Lucy felt self-conscious about her partner seeing a skin flake in her hair before she had told him she has psoriasis.
Lucy felt self-conscious about her partner seeing a skin flake in her hair before she had told him she has psoriasis.
Age at interview: 24
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 11
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The other big thing in terms of like the emotional aspect of it was like, intimacy. And relationships and stuff. And throughout school and college I didn’t have a boyfriend or anything like that. And then at university I met somebody who I really, really loved and, and you know, I wanted to be close and to be intimate and stuff. So I just, I was really honest with him. But I remember one time we were getting ready to go out and he said, “You’ve got something in your hair.” And it was like a piece of skin from my psoriasis. But he didn’t know I had it. And I was really like, [moves arms around] “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter.” I was very defensive. And I think he was a bit [sideways glance], you know, he was a bit taken aback. But then, once it got more serious and I told him all about it, he was completely fine with it. And he’s so supportive. And lovely and understanding. And I think a lot of people will be. You know, people shouldn’t be nervous about relationships or about telling people about the condition, because it’s part of who you are and if they love you, they’ll love you for exactly who you are. And I feel very lucky to have that, to have that relationship. So that sort of anxiety about that has gone now, cos I’m lucky to be in a nice, loving relationship. But, yeah, there is a lot of anxiety that comes with it and, and emotional aspects that come with it, so it can be difficult.
Sometimes people didn’t want to tell others because they felt embarrassed and worried about what they would say. Other times, people didn’t mention their psoriasis because they didn’t see it as relevant. Russell says it wasn’t a big deal when he told his friends and thinks that now they’ve “probably forgotten because it’s not something that I view as particularly serious”.
Most people who told their friends and partners about their psoriasis said it was a relief that they knew. They often found it wasn’t as big an issue as they expected and they received more support. Lucy explained, “Once it’s out in the open, it’s easier”. Lisa has had psoriasis since she was little and says her friends “were pretty fine with it, cos they’d always known”. Zara has kept the same group of friends as she’s grown up. She says because of this “it wasn’t a big new thing to them and so we never had a deep conversation”.
Lucy wanted to her partner to know she had psoriasis before they became intimate. She was nervous about telling him but felt better afterwards.
Lucy wanted to her partner to know she had psoriasis before they became intimate. She was nervous about telling him but felt better afterwards.
Age at interview: 24
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 11
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Could I ask a bit more about the process of telling your partner about psoriasis and how you approached it?
Yeah [laughs], oh god. Well, we’d been seeing each other for a while and I’m quite a, you know, a sensible girl and [laughs] and I’ve been brought up a bit like a Catholic education and stuff like that, so we didn’t get close or anything like that, for a while. And then, yeah, it got to the point where we really liked each other and we wanted to, but I thought, I can’t, I can’t, like I can’t do anything without him knowing that I’ve got this. And so, I don’t know, I think, I think we, he’d come round to mine and we’d made something to eat. And it was just over dinner, I told him, I just said, “Oh,” you know, “I’ve got something to tell you.” And it sounds so serious, doesn’t it, and so like cheesy, but there is no other way of doing it. And I said, you know, “I’ve got psoriasis.” And he didn’t know what psoriasis was [sniffs]. I just said, it’s, I explained what it was, you know. And I said, you know, “I’ve got it here and I’ve got it here. And I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.” And he was just like, “Why would I not wanna see you anymore?” It was so like, it seemed so ridiculous to him, so ridiculous to him. But once I’d described it, I just said, it’s basically very, very dry skin, patches of dry skin around my body and it’s because my cells develop a lot faster than normal cells. But it’s in sort of, it can be in intimate places as well. And he was completely fine with it. I think, at first, he was fine with it, cos he didn’t want to be mean [laugh] and be like, ‘ergh’, but then, you know, when we did get intimate and got closer and everything, it was fine. It was completely fine. And I think you’ll be more comfortable being intimate with somebody if they know, because it would be so much more nerve-wracking if you hadn’t told them and then you were going to do something like that and they’d be like, “Oh, well, what’s that?” That’s awful, you know, that wouldn’t be very nice. So I think I’m glad that I’d told him before we did anything, so then it was easier to be intimate and close afterwards.
Some people lost friends and were bullied at school. Others had not experienced any bullying. Many felt that other people don’t tend to know much about the condition and they had dealt with questions like ‘is it contagious?’, teasing and being avoided. Some tried to educate others about psoriasis but found it difficult to get the information across.
Megan finds it difficult to describe psoriasis to her friends as the wording is sometimes unfamiliar.
Megan finds it difficult to describe psoriasis to her friends as the wording is sometimes unfamiliar.
Age at interview: 16
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 7
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I find I can talk to like my close friends about it but I still find that quite tricky, because some of the things that I understand about it, they don’t. So, I kind of have to be careful in my explanation, because if I explain something and they're like, "What?" It's like, 'Oh I have to explain it this way instead of that way.'
Could you give me an example of that?
Like, when I was talking to them about like what it's like – it's a chronic inflammatory skin condition and everything – it really confused them because like you don’t hear some of the words most of time; and like it took a lot of like time to explain like the different treatments and what it entails, how it helps you and everything, because they didn’t really like, they didn’t have any experience with it, so didn’t really know.
Meeting and spending time with other people
Having psoriasis can have physical and emotional impacts on spending time with others. Physical aspects include when activities with friends and partners might trigger a flare-up or be too uncomfortable because of symptoms. Some people had side effects from treatment that made socialising difficult, such as nausea when taking cyclosporine and methotrexate. Feeling self-conscious about psoriasis can be a huge barrier to socialising with friends and partners.
There were lots of activities with friends and partners mentioned as being affected by psoriasis. Staying over at other people’s houses was a concern for some because of skin flaking (see also about sleep).
Some people thought their experiences with psoriasis brought their friendships and relationships closer. Lola says her girlfriend is supportive, offers reassurance and is happy for her when the psoriasis improves. Lots of people felt ‘good’ friends and partners would accept the person, regardless of them having psoriasis. Louie says his friends were “really understanding”, “respected me for telling them” and have since “helped me through some of the tougher times”. Sometimes having psoriasis wasn’t seen as a ‘problem’ the person had, but as something that made them ‘unique’.
Zara was diagnosed with psoriasis on her feet when she was two years old. She didn’t understand much about the condition at first but felt it made her “different”.
Zara was diagnosed with psoriasis on her feet when she was two years old. She didn’t understand much about the condition at first but felt it made her “different”.
Age at interview: 16
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 2
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I didn’t know what it was, it was I didn’t really understand what psoriasis was it was just something that I had that other people didn’t. I didn’t mind it to be honest I just, it felt kind of cool when you, when I went into primary school cos I stood out and eventually it got worse just cos I used to get bullied for it but yeh I just, the bullying didn’t bother me to be honest and the school sorted it out.
What do you mean about the initial was sort of a bit cool to stand out, do you remember how you felt about that at the time?
Yeh it was just cos I was different, I mean there were so many young children around here everyone, everybody was the same and cos a lot of like my friends had, we’d all been born at the same time.
Yeh.
And they were all, whenever they got together they were all talking about their children but mum always came back and said how many times I came up in conversation just because of my feet and how I was different, how I stood out but I quite liked being seen as special and a bit different to be honest.
So it’s good different.
Yeh.
Meeting new people can be especially nerve-wracking, including those they were romantically interested in. Louie says he used to be confident but became “drawn back” because of psoriasis. He says it’s becoming less of an issue now and thinks his peers will be less judgemental as they get older. Hannah and Jack were unsure if their psoriasis affected their romantic relationships but thought it may have played a part in pushing people away or avoiding commitment. Sofia found it hard to make new friends because her psoriasis affects her confidence and makes her anxious in social situations.
Ella’s friends are supportive and try to reassure her when she feels self-conscious.
Ella’s friends are supportive and try to reassure her when she feels self-conscious.
Age at interview: 16
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 3
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Yeah. It's really not affected at all. Most people are really, really supportive. It's not something that-, it's like-, I think it's on the same level as acne; like my friends wouldn’t judge me for how I looked; I won't judge them for how they look, so psoriasis is just like another part of that really. I think definitely with like relationships, like if I wanted a boyfriend then maybe that would be more -, like it has in the past, like has sort of like-, I've sort of struggled with that. Like, well if it's just like on my face and things it's like explaining like what it is and then maybe thinking that I'm not like-, I'm not attractive because of that which like when I've like been feeling quite like self-conscious about my psoriasis, when I've. It's been like-, even if it's not been that bad and I just have had a really like bad-, like say for a month it's been quite bad then going ‘well, boys won't find me attractive because it's really like-, it's really noticeable, everyone can see it, it's right on my face’, and I can get like quite distracted by it at school or at like social events like, ‘alright OK everyone can see it, it's on my face like, everyone's looking at it’. Like they might not even like it might be like- like no-one notices it, and I might even ask, I might even ask my friend and go, "Oh can you see it on my face; is it really noticeable?" and them going, "What, what are you talking about? I can't see anything." But like because I know it's there like I fixate on it and I can like, in like my mind's eye I'm like ‘everyone can see it, everyone's looking at me’. Even when they're not – they probably even aren't, they probably haven’t even noticed but I think if you know it's there like it just, for me it really distracts me.
Hannah talks about how the emotional impacts of psoriasis affected her friendships and social life, including dropping out of plans.
Hannah talks about how the emotional impacts of psoriasis affected her friendships and social life, including dropping out of plans.
Age at interview: 24
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 16
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In terms of activities it's like, like the gym and things like that, like it's kind of the same as like social-, socialising would be, so like I just wouldn't want to-, when it was bad I just wouldn't want to go out. So that would include like doing any kind of activities. I'd like, like if I was gonna exercise, even though I hardly do, it would be like by myself. I'd rather kind of be by myself. And I could see, I could feel myself wanting to cancel things all the time. So I'd kind of like work myself up and be like, ‘ok I'm gonna go to this’ and be really confident about it on the day before and then on the day just be like ‘I'm not going. Anyway my skin's not, I'd, my skin looks awful, I'm not going. I don't have the energy to spend three hours trying to make it look fine, to put make-up on everything, to find something to wear’. Like you know, I would just back out all the time. And I could feel people kind of be disappointed and because I didn't want to tell them what was happening, you know, I just sort of just looked like I was kind of like flaking on everything. So yeah, it did, it did affect me badly. It's been better since I've kind of been honest about it. And I weirdly felt like I could only be honest about it when it was kind of better, so that it looked like it was sort of in the past. Like I sort of, I didn't wanna show people it at it's worse and sort of have that look of like shock and disgust. So when it got a bit better, then I would talk about it and be like, “Oh I'm on medication because my psoriasis used to be really bad” and, you know, I felt more confident talking about it when it was behind me. It's really hard when it's at it's worse to just be open about it and just be like, “This is what I have.” Because like you, you just hate it so much, you can't imagine that anyone else would feel any differently to the way you do. And it's hard to see it from an outside perspective. And I think, you know, everyone in my life has been like absolutely like great with it, and like interested in like talking about it, and the medications. And then you tend to find out lots of people have other problems and skin conditions and things that they're dealing with that you just sort of didn't realise. And I have been really grateful that it hasn't been on my face, cos I look at a lot of my friends who like suffer from acne and I do feel like, you know, at least I could like hide it. It's so much so much more difficult to hide you know the area that everybody sees first. And you like can try so hard to hide that, but it's much more difficult.
Sex and intimacy were talked about by some people. Contraceptives should be used to avoid pregnancy whilst taking some psoriasis treatments, such as systemic non-biologicals. A few said their romantic relationships were affected by having psoriasis in visible or intimate body areas. This was often talked about for new relationships or casual sex and many said it became less of an issue in longer term relationships. Adam sometimes plans ahead with using his psoriasis treatments to try and get his skin in good condition for dates. Others were unfazed by this. Carys was glad she had been with her husband for several years when she was diagnosed with psoriasis because she felt it would have been hard to be dating.
Adam says he won’t have sex if his psoriasis is flared-up. He sometimes makes excuses about this to avoid explaining the real reasons.
Adam says he won’t have sex if his psoriasis is flared-up. He sometimes makes excuses about this to avoid explaining the real reasons.
Age at interview: 24
Sex: Male
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So again like if my skin was bad I would have an, I would have sex with my partner. It didn’t matter how bad my skin was really. Sometimes it was bad and I didn’t want it then. But like in general it was fine with him. But if it was someone that was effectively like a one-night stand or someone that I kind of rarely had sex with, then I would not have sex with them unless my skin looked effectively normal. So I ju-, I remember there was this one guy who I, and in general I don’t think I ever like had a sexual partner comment on my skin. Because I never put myself in a position where it was noticeable. So, yeah, I’ve always kind of escaped that because I’ve intentionally, so if my skin’s bad for two weeks I don’t have sex for two weeks or something like that if my... And then, it would then, like if my skin then improved I would literally hit the town looking for a pull. Because I was like “I don’t know when it’s gonna like get bad again”. So I used to like, basically like my patterns of sex and how often I had sex was determined, like directly correlated with how my skin looked.
So I would, yeah, I remember it would just be really bad and I just wouldn’t have sex. And then all of a sudden I had a really good skin, I’d be out in the gay bar every night for like four days. Because, and then I would try and pull as many people as possible because I was like, “Oh, my skin’s gonna fuck up again soon and I might not have sex for the next three weeks or a month” or something like that. So I used to do that. And then like, I’d like, sexual partners like that were more than once, say if I’d had sex with, had really good sex with, who would then ask me like at another random time like, “Oh, can I come over, [participant name removed]? Like we’ve had sex three times. Surely you want me to come over again.” Like, like I’d be so up for them coming over, but my skin would be bad and I would just say, “No.” Like I’d be like, “Oh, I’m like not that kind of guy any more” or something like that. I’d like think of all these excuses to kind of deny them like the right to come over. Although actually what I wanted was intimacy with someone at the time. So I never risked it. I never, because of I’m very conscious that if someone did make a comment on me, I don’t think I would be able to take it very well.
Lisa and her boyfriend try to find “the funny side” of psoriasis.
Lisa and her boyfriend try to find “the funny side” of psoriasis.
Age at interview: 20
Sex: Female
Age at diagnosis: 11
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My boyfriend’s extremely understanding. I think we, we spent one time sort of, in our free time, Googling what people would suggest for relationships and we found a load of sort of spoof sites where they would suggest red light bulbs and stuff. So, [laughs] that was pretty amusing. But no, he’s really supportive and kind of finds the funny side of it. And he does-, he says he doesn’t really see it, so it’s fine that way.
A few people talked about joking and humour related to their psoriasis. Sometimes people were okay with the jokes others made and found it funny too, but other times it was upsetting. Louis says he got ‘stick’ from friends who joked that his psoriasis was a sexually transmitted disease (STD). He says he “quickly got used to a bit of joking about it and I didn’t mind”. Lola talked to her friends who have made jokes to help them understand why it wasn’t appropriate. Louie says people sometimes “make a little dig or little joke by accident, not really knowing what it is”.
Some people had experience of living with housemates. Louis says his housemates got used to the things he did to help his skin, such as take long cold showers to soothe the psoriasis, and helped him with applying topical treatments. Damini says her housemate “understood what I was going through” so they could talk about psoriasis, “but still, you still hide away, naturally. It was just, you don’t want people to see it”.
Louis is at university and lives away from his family. He had help from some of his housemates with applying topical treatments to his psoriasis.
Louis is at university and lives away from his family. He had help from some of his housemates with applying topical treatments to his psoriasis.
Age at interview: 21
Sex: Male
Age at diagnosis: 18
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Did you ever need help applying any of the creams, for example, to parts of the body that are difficult to reach?
Yeah. So that was another- another housemate job that had to be done. I had to just hand someone a steroid cream and said, "I can't reach this bit [points to back], can you go for it?" So there was a sort of rota of people that had to do that for me. And obviously once it's on your hands it's really greasy and horrible, so it takes ages to get off. You have to wash it with like soap and hot water and stuff. So for lots of reasons it wasn't the best job to have to do. But no, they were quite good about it. Yeah. Unfortunately, the back was probably the most itchy bit. And trying to get- get cream all over your back [gestures reaching towards back] was quite difficult, so they were roped in to do that quite often. But no, they did alright, they were quite good.
Lots of people said they disliked having their photograph taken and seeing them on social media (see also about on photographs in the section on socialising and hobbies). Sometimes they wanted to see the photo straight away and, if they didn’t like it, would ask for it to be deleted.
Louie removed photos from his Instagram account which had been taken before he developed psoriasis.
Louie removed photos from his Instagram account which had been taken before he developed psoriasis.
Age at interview: 16
Sex: Male
Age at diagnosis: 13
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I don’t talk about psoriasis on social media cos I don’t-, it’s not one of those things. I’m-, just something I just don’t do and I don’t-, I stopped. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Instagram? Which is a photo site and you send photos etcetera, well you have a photo wall and you have your different photos. I do not post on Instagram anymore because, maybe because of my psoriasis or maybe just because of my lack of confidence but I got that lack of confidence because of psoriasis. Whereas before I did have about 20 pictures on there 20, 15 pictures on there that I did-, but I took them all down rather quickly ever since I got psoriasis because I didn’t want people to see me before and then look at me now and say, “Oh, like what’s happened?” sort of thing. So I just sort of just-, I keep it open cos I like looking at other people’s pictures but I have cut all my pictures and stuff like that and I don’t really use social media as much but I still am quite-, I still do use social media still quite a lot but not in, not in relation with other people that are on it 24/7.
Nobody mentioned their partners having psoriasis, but some had friends with it (see also section on support). This gave them opportunities to talk about the condition and treatments (like steroid creams and phototherapy, as well as alternative therapies) with others.
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