3 Tips to Have a Yes Day with Psoriatic Arthritis

I recently watched a movie with my family on Netflix called Yes Day. If you haven’t seen it, the name clearly can tell you what the movie is about. In summary, the story is about a family with children that spends a whole day with the parents saying “yes” to everything.

Even within the movie, there are some practical parameters put in place to stay within the realm of reality. But the concept is the same. So this movie led me to wonder, what would a “Yes Day” for my family look like when I have the limitations of psoriatic arthritis?

Having fun with PsA is possible!

Just because you live with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), it doesn’t mean that your family has to forgo fun types of activities. You hold the potential to go about them the right way to set you and your family up for some fun memories and engaging activities.

While PsA can be restricting, painful, and limiting, it does not have to control our every thought and move. If we can muster up the confidence, self-control and self-worth, a Yes Day with PsA is possible and within our painful grasp.

We've got to plan it!

The key word here is plan. If you try for a random Yes Day, chances are it will turn into a No Day really quickly. Your body will rebel and bad things will likely happen. If you take a biologic, pick the day when you will most likely be reaping the most benefits from your medicine. Usually, this is right in the middle of your treatment cycle. If you take your biologic every 4 weeks, shoot for right at that two-week mark.

Plan it for a day when you don’t have a lot of commitments (or really anything) the next day so that you can be sure to have a day or two to rest. In addition, I’d suggest you plan a little reward for yourself - think decadent, relaxing bath, or cuddling under a soft blanket.

Post activities, gently high-five yourself for finally being that awesome parent.

With planning, comes preperation

Lay the groundwork for an amazing day by preparing as much as you can ahead of time. Prepare your kids with realistic expectations and layout as much ahead of time as you can possibly manage.

You know your family and what they are likely to choose to do. Prepare yourself with comfortable shoes and clothes. And do your best to encourage a good mix of “restful” activities like movies (at an actual theater) with more “active” activities.

Take plenty of pictures

Snap all the pics, folks. Trust me on this. When the next flare comes around (and we all know it will), use the pictures to remind yourself of something good. And to keep mindful of the old saying, “This too shall pass.” 

Sometimes, when I have a flare, I become too focused on how bad I feel. Brain fog takes over, and I tend to forget many finer details of good days and memories like a Yes Day. If I have lots of pictures to scroll through, then it helps me to more easily remember all of the great memories we made that day.

It is also a great reminder that you are, in fact, a much better parent than you feel like at that moment. Parenting is tough, especially when you feel bad. So if you have plenty of pics to remind you that there are times when you really nail this parenting thing, then you can’t go wrong with that!

Cheers to an amazing Yes Day with PsA

Perhaps your first inclination was to say, no way to a Yes Day. But with the right planning and preparations, I really believe you can pull off a Yes Day that your family will remember for years to come, even if you have psoriatic arthritis!

If it is something you’d consider, I’d love to hear more about it in the comments.