How can I explain PSA to my older brothers (77 and 80, both still active) and friends?
Can someone please tell me how to explain to my family and friends what psoriatic arthritis is and how it is limiting my life? They either don't understand at all or they brush it off with, "Oh, everyone in our family has arthritis." Friends continue to ask me to do things I did before but can't do now, like go for a walk or spend a weekend camping, walk through an art fair on a hot day, etc. Two years ago I was fine. I was 68. Now I am 70, have full-blown PSA, am needing to use a walker to walk more than a block, am in constant pain and not sleeping well. It's not 'just arthritis." How can I explain it? It came on like a tornado a year and a half ago and never let up.
Hello
, I'm so glad you reached out. I'm sorry to hear that on top of your PsA symptoms you are managing the expectations and misunderstandings of family and friends. You bring up a common struggle within the community about how sometimes family and friends of those living with PsA do not understand or dismiss the realities and impact of PsA. Some people have found sharing information from doctors, or even sharing articles from here, helpful in getting others to better understand the lived reality of managing PsA. I'm not sure if it would be feasible for you to share some information with your family, but we do have this article about the difference between psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/clinical/osteoarthritis-vs-psa-differences. People unfamiliar with psoriatic arthritis hear the word arthritis and can sometimes make assumptions. Some of our community members have also found that explaining psoriatic arthritis as an autoimmune and inflammatory disease can help others understand that it is very different than the wear-and-tear of osteoarthritis. Please know that this community is here for you. And hopefully your family and friends can be a little more open to hearing about your experiences and pain and what that means as far as your limitations and impacts on your day-to-day life. Sending you gentle hugs. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
