This Woman Posted A Photo Of Her Skin Condition Because She Was Tired Of Feeling “Hideous”

In early 2018, Aimee Godden was diagnosed with chicken pox after red splotches suddenly appeared on her face. But when the pox didn’t go away, Godden was later diagnosed with guttate psoriasis, a common form of the autoimmune disease which causes dry, red, and itchy patches on the skin. Not sure when or if this flare-up would pass, Godden needed to figure out how to cope with her new appearance.

She decided to take to Instagram a couple months into her diagnosis. “I thought I was hideous,” Godden told Health. “I stayed at my mum’s for weeks crying myself to sleep and waking up in the mornings with pure dread of the day ahead.” But she knew she couldn’t let her skin keep her down. Godden began to open up via social media.

“Learning to love my spots,” Godden captioned an April 2nd post. Getting to this point wasn’t easy, though. She was targeted and bullied for her appearance at first. “I received death threats,” she continued, per Health.

However, those threats didn’t persuade her to stop her self-love journey. Godden continued to post and be transparent about her psoriasis with her followers. “Today is my first bad day,” she wrote in an April 7th post. “Not only is my skin on fire, but I just woke up feeling so low. I’m just feeling sorry for myself, which we’re all allowed to do sometimes.”

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The more she posted, the more followers, fans, and supporters she gained. Godden even gave herself the empowering nickname “Cheetah Girl.”

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Most importantly, Godden is learning to love her skin and treat it well. Godden wrote in a May 31st Instagram post, “[Psoriasis is] something I’m learning to live with and I think I’m doing pretty well actually. If you stare because you’re intrigued then be kind enough to smile back when I smile at you, please do not look away in embarrassment.”

She continued, “A smile and a little kindness goes along way to help with a psoriasis warriors healing process.”

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By sharing her own unique beauty and story, Godden is helping those with similar diagnoses realize their own beauty and feel great about the cards they’ve been dealt.