Finding Small Ways To Be Kind to Myself With Psoriatic Arthritis

Today was a very busy day. First up today was taking my oldest son to work, which includes waking up and being on the road at 7:00 in the morning. That means that I am up by 6:45.

When I wake up I have to have time to sit up, wait on the side of the bed and then stand up. My PsA does not do very well with waking up.

What that means is that stiffness is present every single day. Some days, it is harder than others.

Many things effect waking up including; how I slept, which position I am sleeping in, what the weather was like, my pain and my blood pressure. Today the stiffness is moderate. Not too bad, but definitely there.

Gearing up for a busy day

The weather was really cold, which means I needed to dress warmly to keep the cold from creeping into my joints. When this happens, I can't keep good control of my body temperature, and my digits get suddenly cold and hurt. I had to allow time to warm up the car in this 32-degree weather.

Now that I have my son at work, according to my to-do list, my next task was going to a bloodwork appointment. For this test, I had to be fasting. My cardiologist and primary physician are checking my blood count and lipids, so I can't eat breakfast.

After midnight, I was only allowed to drink water. Did you hear that? It's my stomach growling.

My entire life, I have always eaten after getting dressed for my day, so this is rough. Fifty years of doing it this way and taking the day off doesn't make for a quiet stomach. I do think my stomach protests too much!

This was not as quick as I would have liked. Due to a new receptionist, I am sad to say the wait was an hour long, but at least it's done.

Siblings unite

On to my next stop which was my dad's house. My dad is turning 91 years old and has Alzheimer's. He doesn't realize it but my third oldest brother was coming home from Tennessee to Chicagoland.

My older sister was at dad's house cleaning for my brother's arrival. Before he came, our oldest brother who lives with dad, wanted extra help. I have such a full schedule today that he enlisted my sister to help.

My siblings were talking about lunch and have asked me to run out to pick up food. On my way back, I got into the turning lane and realized that the license plate on the car in front of me was a Tennessee car. What are the odds?

Back in the old days, I would not have stopped to eat but instead would have plowed through my day, putting off till I was done. Today's lunch was special. We rarely get together now, and we all appreciate the time together.

Shopping adventures

It was time to pick up my youngest child to go shopping and to enlist my daughter's fashion knowledge. She is great and advises me about clothes and make-up. We went to the first store and did not find the gift we were seeking, but we did find a couple of tops we were looking for.

At this point, I noticed that my back was a little tighter on to the second store. We were having no luck whatsoever there. This means a third store! After this store, my feet are tired.

Looking over at my daughter, I can see she is done, too. We check out and head home.

Prioritizing self-care

Today I pushed myself hard but not beyond reason. First off I am proud of myself for giving myself time to be kind to me. Remembering to eat is something I can no longer push off.

Diabetes type 2 does not like to skip or wait for meals. Another thing that I do now is write myself to-do lists and enjoy checking off the boxes when done.

Now that I am home, I will finish my paperwork and be kind to myself. Tonight I will be taking a warm bath to treat the aches and pains of the PsA. Some downtime will be needed before starting over again tomorrow.

Sometimes, it is the smallest thing we do to be kind to ourselves, but it can be so effective!

Taking time to even give yourself an extra five minutes to rest is always a good thing! What do you do to be kind to you?