On Wednesday, Ashley Tisdale wrote an entry for her health blog Frenshe in which she discussed hair loss and her own experience with alopecia. This is a topic that many people find uncomfortable to talk about.

The 37-year-old former star of High School Musical shared a video in which she spoke openly and honestly about her autoimmune ailment, which she assured viewers is more prevalent than one may first believe.

She accompanied the video with the statement, “A lot of individuals feel ashamed to speak about these concerns. Your self-esteem may be negatively impacted by any form of hair loss, but it can be more detrimental if you have the impression that you are the only one going through it. Because there is absolutely no need to be embarrassed about it, I feel that it should be discussed freely.”

In the video, Tisdale discusses some of the factors that may have contributed to her hair thinning, which she first became aware of when she was in her early 20s and subsequently questioned both her hair colorist and her dermatologist about.

She said that her particular illness is strain, and that the most effective methods for her to manage stress include meditation, yoga, and “figuring out what is a major deal vs not a big deal.”

The way she eats is another component of her entire plan. Tisdale adheres to an autoimmune-targeted diet for the purpose of maintaining gut health. She characterizes this diet as “essentially like paleo,” except it does not include certain foods such as wheat.

“It improves how you feel overall, and it also promotes healing in the digestive tract. You shouldn’t follow it as a way of eating for the rest of your life, but if you want to try it out for 30 days, that’s OK “