Coping Through The Little Things With Psoriatic Arthritis

It’s just one painful joint, maybe two. It’s just one bill, one load of laundry, one dinner date. One canceled outing with friends. Maybe you have to wait a little longer than you’d like. Your boss was insensitive. You couldn’t open your child’s fruit snacks.

And that’s it. You are done. You’ve hit that one little thing that just sends you right over the edge.

The little things and their impact on psoriatic arthritis

Living with the daily pain and fatigue of psoriatic arthritis can make all these little struggles in life feel like so much more than what they really are. Most people think it is no big deal to open a package of fruit snacks. But sadly, I’m not most people.

Fruit snacks are like my major archnemesis. Those darn little things send me over the edge, every single time! And don’t even get me started on jars of jelly. We all have these “little things” in our life that just send us over the edge much quicker than most people because we live with psoriatic arthritis. Maybe it is opening bottles or holding a hammer.

We lose these bits of normalcy, these little things that we took for granted. We melt over seemingly innocuous things. I even found myself melting over a paint roller the other day. Yes, a paint roller.

When the little things boil over

Pain churning in the background, simmering like a pot left on the stove too long. Pain that is boiling, to the point that it overflows all over everything. That pain makes all these little things feel like so much more.

Suddenly, you find yourself erupting more than Mount Vesuvius spitting out nasty retorts and soul-crushing criticisms.

Though It seemed like a little thing. Something that my pre-diagnosed self would conquer (and actually secretly enjoy!). All I had to do was paint a wall. Simple, right? I love like literally, love, to paint the walls in my house. Well, I made it halfway through the project, my hands and arms throbbing in pain.

Are the little things really little?

With my mind screaming, “All you have to do is roll on the paint! Simple! That’s it!” All the while my body is rejecting the orders from my mind.

Sheer anger and frustration are the only things that got me through that project. Sure, I could have dropped the roller, played my PsA card, and asked my darling hubby for help. But something within myself wouldn’t let me. I didn’t want to give up one more thing, even if it is a “little thing”.

I can’t let go of the little pieces that make me who I am. Especially when I’ve already lost so much.

Managing through daily life's "little things"

Sure, I paid the price for that little battle. But I suppose it was worth it. For better or worse, it’s these little things that make up our lives. It’s the choices that we make and how we choose the manage these little things that always seem to send us over the edge.

Some battles are worth fighting and some we just need to walk away from. What about you? Are there little things in your life that send you over the edge because you live with daily pain and fatigue?

How do you manage to hold it all together?