Raising Awareness for PsA
It seems like PsA doesn't get nearly the amount of attention that osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis get. How do you raise awareness or help educate others about what it means to live with psoriatic arthritis?
It's very frustrating, isn't it? I'm very outspoken about my PsA and after having it for more than 25 years, I'm always a little surprised when someone makes a comment that lets me know that they don't understand it at all. Comparisons to their grandma's hip pain or the popping sound they hear every time they stand up tells me that they have no idea what it's like to live with chronic pain.
Still, I do try to tell people what's going on with me. I also like to share information on social media about PsA. I have just discovered psoriatic-arthritis.com very recently and it is a great tool for raising awareness.
I participated in the NPF Walk in DC last year and had lots of opportunities to post about my story then, and was pleasantly surprised by the questions I got about that. My GP will occasionally pass along my contact information (with my permission) to those who are newly diagnosed with PsA or even those with other auto-immune disorders or other types of chronic pain. It feels good to turn this into a positive by helping someone else.
I"m looking to do the NPF walk in Philadelphia this year - do you think you'll do it again in DC?
That's fantastic that your GP passes your info along - while online support is fantastic, I think it's important to have that local, in person kind of support available.
