Like most young women, Anna Lysakowska’s social media pages are full of snaps of her in dresses and bikinis having fun in exotic locations.
But while she appears to lead the perfect life, Anna is actually battling a painful and debilitating immune disease that causes seven per cent of sufferers to commit suicide – psoriasis.
Often written off as a “silly skin problem”, the condition wreaks havoc with sufferers’ self-esteem, forcing them to change their entire lives – from what they were to where they live. Many sufferers are even afraid to leave the house.
After years of letting her condition rule her life, Anna decided to start living like a normal young person, even if that meant being stared at and shunned by other people.
“My public image of a ‘bikini girl’ in this case is quite ridiculous,” she writes on news.com.au. “My skin problem actually costs me a lot of courage to put on my bikini and wander around the beach.
“However, since I currently live in Playa del Carmen in Mexico where sunbathing at the beach or swimming at cenotes are daily activities it’s impossible for me to avoid showing off some skin, with or without the red spot.
“I simply had to tell myself that I need to try live like other people because I mean seriously people, what am I supposed to wear a the beach and swim in … a moo moo? That would be far more awkward, don’t you think?”
As expected, people stare and even avoid going near Anna, but she has learnt to live with it.
“Do I see that people are often afraid of sitting next to me? Yes, and you know what — it’s more space for me! Will they stop asking questions? No, and they also won’t stop staring, so instead of feeling insecure about it I’ve learnt to answer their questions before they even have a chance to open their mouth.
“I didn’t fall off the bike and didn’t get a sunburn, it’s just my skin and no, I don’t need the cream that worked for your grandma. It definitely made my life easier.”
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