Letting Your Pre-Psoriasis Self Go

I have never been one who wears much makeup or dresses fancy. It is simply not my thing, much to my mother’s aggravation I am sure, as she is a woman of many colors and flowing clothes. A gypsy by heart and always pulled through a ring.

While she loves shoes, I am someone who would rather wade barefoot through the grass and have mud in-between my toes. I like to be clean and all the rest of those good things, I am however a woman of a more simple style.

Finding acceptance in your psoriasis skin

Recently, I had a moment of reflection. With less noise and more quiet moments of pondering the world, it’s people and it’s ways. In one of these quieter moments, I had a light bulb moment about myself.

Since my psoriasis has become a constant problem, it came hand in hand with letting myself go a bit. I do not just mean physically, but emotionally too.

Finding more comfortable clothing with each flare

As each flare would come and go, it truly felt as if each time it chipped away at my soul. Finding clothes that did not aggravate my skin became more important than caring about how those clothes looked.

If you have ever been in pain all over your body, all the time. You will have a greater appreciation for this. Finding a fabric that did not make my skin feel as if it was being ripped from my body was my first and eventually my only priority.

No longer able to do my nails

My nails were next to go. Have you seen what psoriasis does to your nails? This is one of my greatest pet peeves. My nails look like hell, they are yellow pitted, they grow to skew and I just about need a hack saw on nail day.

I used to keep my nails short, and painted; you would never have guessed what was hiding underneath. When it became too sore to rub on the nails to take nail polish off, I stopped.

Struggling for acceptance is exhausting

It would seem that I let my mind go worst of all. Feeling ugly and struggling to accept the new version of you is exhausting and hard to deal with. I found this to be the most damaging of all. Every time it got bad, a small part of my mind started feeling hopeless.

Slowly, this catches up to you. This was where I started to rebuild too, I started by loving myself with my funny looking nails and my strange clothes, and most of all just the way I was.

Practicing self-care

Self-care is currently a hot topic, you see articles in magazines and everyone is talking about it. For probably the first time in my life, I am: “in on this trend”. Look after yourself. Take slow baths and soak when you need to.

Rest and do things that make your soul smile. Read good books, paint your nails, and learn to love yourself the way you are.