Brandi Glanville Opens Up About Her 'Devastating' Psoriasis: 'It's 100 Percent Stress Induced'

As one of the most outspoken former stars of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Brandi Glanville is used to being open about her life. But when it comes to a painful skin condition, she hasn't always shared all.

"I don't like talking about my psoriasis too much because it can cause a breakout," says Glanville, 48, who has been coping with recent flare ups of her skin condition. "I try to keep my mind busy. It is 100 percent stress induced."

For years, Glanville's psoriasis, which she first dealt with as a young girl, wasn't too bothersome. But when the reality star, who also hosts a podcast, Brandi Glanville Unfiltered, returned to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills last year (she left the show in 2016), the drama caused a painful flare up.

"When I was shooting Housewives last year, I got it on my face for the first time," she tells PEOPLE. "Usually it was on my body or my arms or my scalp and I could hide it, but you can't do that when it's in the middle of your face."

Being on the show, where she navigated drama with Housewife Denise Richards "was a whole new level of stress I've never felt in my life," says Glanville. "I forgot how stressful it is to do that show."

When the pandemic hit, her condition worsened. "I thought the world was ending," recalls Glanville. "It just got worse and worse."

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In addition to the "mental and emotional" toll of psoriasis, "it's painful," says Glanville. "Your face is cracking and bleeding. It's not fun."

An at home light treatment backfired when Glanville accidentally left it on her skin for too long and was left with second and third degree burns. "I still have scars and I don't know what to do about them," she says.

Still, Glanville is trying to stay positive. "It's a difficult time for me," the mother of sons Mason, 18, and Jake, 14, admits. "But my kids are happy. And I have a lot of good things in my life."

For more on Brani Glanville, pick up a copy of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.