Singer LeAnn Rimes Shares 'Unabashedly Honest' Psoriasis Photos on Instagram

What happened: Country music star LeAnn Rimes shared nude photos of herself on Instagram that show her psoriasis patches for World Psoriasis Day. In the post, Rimes said she is revealing that she has this condition because she wants to “give a voice to what so many other people are going through.” The photos were taken for an essay by Rimes in Glamour Magazine, in which she wrote that she was “tired of hiding” her psoriasis.

You know when you say something you’ve been holding in for so long, and it’s such a sigh of relief? That’s what these photos are to me. — LeAnn Rimes, Glamour

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So much of my journey, both personally and within my creations, my new chant record and podcast coming out soon, has been excavating pieces that I’ve been hiding and bringing them to the light. It’s been and still is a journey of allowing them out and welcoming and reintegrating those fragments back into wholeness. Music has been my gift, and why I’m here. But I want to give a voice to these other pieces of me. And I want to give a voice to what so many other people are going through. This is finally my time to be unabashedly honest about what psoriasis is and what it looks like. You know when you say something you’ve been holding in for so long, and it’s such a sigh of relief? That’s what these photos are to me. I needed this. My whole body—my mind, my spirit—needed this desperately. With today being World Psoriasis Day, I thought this would be the perfect time to share my story with @glamourmag, head to the link in my bio/ stories to read my full essay ???? #worldpsoriasisday #psoriasis #psoriasisawareness #glamourmag #whatilivewith

A post shared by LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (@leannrimes) on Oct 29, 2020 at 9:23am PDT

The Frontlines: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that can cause red, itchy scaly patches. An estimated 125 million people or 2 to 3% of the total population has psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation.

There are two types of psoriasis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Between 10 to 20% of people with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory type of arthritis, according to the CDC.
Besides patches, other symptoms of psoriasis include small scaling spots, cracked skin that may bleed or itch, burning sensations or soreness, and swollen and stiff joints.

A Mighty Voice: Our contributor David M wrote a message for those who judge people who have psoriasis. “I want to go outside without feeling the stares of people who pass me by. I want to eliminate any timidness of people who are quick to judge and not so quick to shake my hand or look disgusted when I hand them my debit card to pay for an item. I want to feel like a ‘normal’ person. I want to wear shorts in the summer heat without judgment.”

From Our Community:

In need of help and Advice!!! #Eczema #Psoriasis #Dermatitis

Other Things to Know: If you live with a chronic health condition like psoriasis, you may have to weigh changing parts of your lifestyle and building your own self-confidence. Below are some ways that celebrities and others living with the condition cope with psoriasis:

How to Take Action: You can read Rimes’ full essay about her life with psoriasis on Glamour’s website. You can listen to her new record, “The Human and the Holy.” when it comes out on Nov. 20 and her podcast “Wholly Human” on health and wellness on Nov. 30.