By Jenny Rapson 
Powerful performances of country ballads are what we are used to hearing and seeing from superstar singer LeAnn Rimes. So, I think it’s a fair statement to say she shocked some folks last week with a coming out of sorts. On October 29th, World Psoriasis Day, Rimes went very public with a very private battle.
In a revealing photo shoot and essay with Glamour Magazine, LeAnn Rimes reveals that psoriasis is a part of her daily life.
Stripped completely bare, Rimes’ psoriasis is on full display all over her body for all to see, and the singer says it’s extremely freeing.
“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,” she wrote.
Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease that affects more than 125 million people worldwide.
The red, scaly plaques can itch, burn, and sting and be a challenge to treat. Rimes says she spent years treating her psoriasis with steroid creams and off-the-wall treatments like wrapping herself in Saran Wrap and coal tar. She did everything in her power to hide the disease, even when it made her extremely uncomfortable.
Now, Rimes says, she is done hiding her struggle.
On World Psoriasis Day, October 29th, Rimes took to Instagram and shared one of photographer Sara Hertel’s photos of herself, nude, and with her disease on full display. She said, “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.”
The response to the 38-year-old singer’s transparency has been overwhelmingly positive. As a result, she’s inspiring those struggling like her. “Thank you for doing this. It makes all of us that suffer feel just a little less ashamed,” says one Instagram commenter. “♥️♥️Thank you🙏🏻♥️♥️ ,” says another, “I can only imagine how much it took to share this and for me tears were streaming down my face as I read your article. I hear you. I see you. I am right there with you. You brought me courage and strength- and much respect.”
After all this time, LeAnn Rimes says she’s coming forward to send an important message.
“Know that you’re not alone,” she says to others waging a private battle in her Instagram Story. “That was my main reason for wanting to share something so vulnerable, because so many people are struggling, and do struggle with psoriasis among so many other things. Just know that you are loved and you are worthy, as I tell myself the same thing over and over again.”
Rimes’ essay just goes to show that you never truly know what someone is going through. I applaud her for giving a voice to her disease so that others who suffer in silence can take heart. One other thing she said in her essay truly spoke to me, and I hope you will take her words to heart here:
“We’re worthy without the makeup and the artifice. We’re worthy of love without having to work for it.”
Amen.
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