Can you have Anxiety and Depression with Psoriasis?

The short answer to that is yes. Although many people tend to only have one or the other. For me, it was the depression first. After having come to terms with having psoriasis, the depression went away only to be followed up with the anxiety. I still deal with anxiety to this day. Luckily for me, it is mostly controlled by medication but there are times that it still gets the better of me. I still get anxious about going out in public. I believe like so many that I am being stared at by others. Are they really staring or is it my mind playing tricks on me? For the most part, it is my mind because I am blessed to say I only have a couple of plaque psoriasis patches left which are not visible. However, it does not stop the anxiety from rising up when I go to town.

Dealing with both

Please don't get me wrong. There are days that I still deal with both the anxiety and depression. We all have down days. I am no different. It is on these down days that both the depression and anxiety rear their ugly heads creeping in to make the day so much worse. I get depressed because I am not feeling good with my body hurting. Daily living for me is trying to stay as active as I can. I get anxious because I think of all the things I need to get done that are just not going to get done that day. It makes me feel like it is a catch twenty-two. The depression says you can't do anything. The anxiety says you have so much you need to get done. Why can't you do it? I know I cannot be the only one who ever feels this way.

Talking to my doctor

Most of the time when I go see my doctor I usually get asked about the anxiety. Is it better? Is it worse? If it's worse do we need to consider going up on the medication? I have never thought about having the conversation with my doctor about dealing with both until now. As I sit here writing, I am dealing with both anxiety and depression. It seems like I have had more down days than good ones here lately. I pride myself on keeping a clean house and yard. By yard, I mean my flower beds which are in desperate need of weeding currently. However, with not feeling good both of those are not getting done to my liking. My beautiful roses that I like to gaze upon are looking the way my body is feeling. What do I mean by that you ask? My roses are covered with weeds and thorns. A great analogy to the way my body is feeling currently -weedy or blocked and full of thorns poking my skin. How on earth am I supposed to get them looking beautiful again when I feel anything but beautiful? For this reason, I will have that talk with my doctor about having both anxiety and depression. It's not that I want to be on more medicine because with psoriasis I already take a ton of it. It's about not letting it get the best of me pulling me down into the dark. I hope that makes sense. It's really easy for us to get lost in emotion. At least for me, it is.

Will you talk to your doctor?

Part of the reason why I write is so that hopefully no one feels alone. We all deal with psoriasis. We all tend to deal with depression or anxiety. No one ever really talks about having both depression and anxiety. For that reason, I am writing about it now. If you are struggling as I am with both anxiety and depression then I implore you to have that talk with your doctor as well. Do not sit there suffering in silence when something can be done about it. If you have had or still have both anxiety and depression I would love to hear from you. It is only when we share our story that we no longer feel like we are the only one dealing with whatever it is.