I have suffered from psoriasis for my entire adult life, and have been battling it ever since I woke up one morning in college to find my hands covered in white flakes.

My psoriasis has waxed and waned over the years: through stress, diet choices and seasonal changes, among other factors. But I have always looked to my support system of close friends and family to help me get through the toughest times.

For some people with psoriasis, particularly those who are not comfortable talking about their disease with others, this can be a challenge. It’s difficult to ask for help when you feel like you’re in your own battle with your skin. But there are so many ways that your friends can help you with psoriasis. For me, I look at it as a way to help my friends understand what I am going through each day.

If you have not already done so, share your story of living with psoriasis with your circle of friends. If you think their reactions will be positive, talk about it! If you are concerned about how they might react… maybe it’s time for a new group of friends!

One of the most important ways your friends can help you with psoriasis is to keep you from feeling isolated. Psoriasis can be an extremely lonely disease, especially for those whose psoriasis is severe. Even if your psoriasis is mild, though, it can feel isolating not to have people around who understand what you’re going through.

Your friends can help you with psoriasis in two ways: by serving as a support group when you need one and by helping you find other people with psoriasis.

The first way your friends can help is by being there and listening when you need someone to talk to. You might feel like no one understands what you’re going through, or that talking about your psoriasis makes others uncomfortable. Your friends should be there anyway because they love and care about you, but they’ll also probably benefit from talking about your illness.

It’s always easier to get through a difficult time if you have someone supporting you along the way. If all they do is listen, that’s okay – just knowing someone cares makes a huge difference. But it’s nice if they can do more than that too, such as offering advice or helping out with chores or errands.