Stress! Who Me?

I have dealt with and aimed to somehow manage stress my whole life. I remember my first day of school in 1968. I was 5 years old and not allowed to go into my classroom. I was 80% covered in plaque psoriasis and no one understood this condition, including me.

My teachers, the school, and my classmates thought I was contagious. I was immediately taken to a hospital and quarantined without my parents. I don't know if I would define this instance as stressful at the time, but I did realize that this condition was going to have a large impact on how I lived my life.

Managing stress throughout the years...

Over the years, I have tried to live a stress-free life. The role of stress in something with an autoimmune condition like psoriasis can be very tricky and serve as a potential and quite a large trigger.

Throughout my years managing this condition, I have been told that stress is a major factor in keeping my symptoms under control. I also know that over the years I have stressed a lot over my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

It can be hard to be happy when you’re scratching, in pain, and covered in plaques.

Stress seems to be inevitable.

I used to get so upset when people would point and stare at me. They would ask questions and even give unsolicited advice. It was during these times, my stress level would get so high. I would immediately start scratching and in a few days start having a full-blown flare.

It's bad enough to suffer from itchy, painful, scaly skin without other people making it worse by insensitive remarks. People didn’t even want to shake my hand. When I was in my teen, in addition to hormones, I had the added stress of rude stares and inconsiderate comments.

No part of my body was clear. Even my face was under attack. I just wanted to hide under a rock and never come out. Even today with the best treatments out there, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis can still be hard conditions to live with.  The treatments stop working and it seems like you are back to square one.

Living a stress-free life is very hard

A struggle is defining it lightly. Daily, we deal with so many stressful circumstances, not limited to traffic, people, jobs, family, and friends. Even managing a diet can be stressful - though eating the right foods will help stress too. Our doctors tell us to eat more vegetables, fruits and drink plenty of water.

A big stress reliever for me is walking. I also find it important to try to get plenty of sleep. When our immune system is weak and stress gets in the body - a flare isn' too far behind.

I won't let the everyday stress of life rule me. I will take control of my health by doing everything possible to eliminate how stress affects me. Take time to smell the roses. Stress is known to make psoriasis worse, and when you’re suffering from a flare-up, you can end up feeling even more stressed.

Stress is ultimately in your control

I have learned to accept the fact that I have a disease that has no cure. I have learned to educate myself and have a good attitude about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. If people stare, point, and make remarks, I educate them. Let people know that I am not contagious.

If you find that you can’t cope, join a support group where you can talk to people who can relate to you. They will understand what you are going through and give you much-needed support. If you can’t find a support group, start one.

I owe it to myself to take care of me. Because of my psoriasis, I've become a better me, by living stress-free.