August is Psoriasis Action Month

Ever heard of Psoriasis Action Month? Maybe you have heard of it but don't know what it means. I will try to shed some light on the subject so you will know from here on out.

What is Psoriasis Action Month?

Psoriasis Action Month was first established in 1997 by the National Psoriasis Foundation. It was to be their first national public awareness campaign. However, that campaign was first listed as Psoriasis Awareness Month. That campaign focused on four keys areas. These areas are still the same now.

The four area of the psoriasis public awareness campaign

1. Psoriasis is not contagious
2. It's a serious health matter
3. It can be quite severe and even disabling
4. People needed to know the NPF existed

This first push was on the radio, television, and in newspapers. Fast forward all these years later and the public awareness campaign has been moved more toward the internet. These four key areas are still important factors today.

The results of the first Psoriasis Awareness Month

Great things came out of that first campaign. It was from this campaign that the NPF searched for celebrities who would help be a spokesperson.

At that time it was a country music singer by the name of Joe Diffie that stepped forward and took that role of being a spokesperson. While he did not have psoriasis, his manager did. He spoke of knowing what his friend had been dealing with for over twenty years on how psoriasis could be devastating and he did so by conducting interviews on television and radio.

All these years later, most of us know the names of celebrities that live with psoriasis. Phil Mickelson the pro golfer and Cindy Lauper the singer just to name two of them. I'm sure you can name more. It is thanks to this first initial push in 1997 that we now know celebrities who live with psoriasis also.

Changing the name to Psoriasis Action Month

For twenty-two years the campaign stayed as Psoriasis Awareness Month. However because there was so much awareness that had been built in those years, The National Psoriasis Foundation thought it was a good time to change the campaign name to Psoriasis Action Month. That was two years ago in 2017 at the mark of the twentieth anniversary of the first campaign.

So why the name change? In 1997, treatment options for psoriasis were very limited. Fast forward twenty years, new treatment options are being announced almost monthly.

Helping that situation to become a reality is the effectiveness that the NPF had when the organization went before the FDA to speak about psoriasis and why new treatments were needed to treat patients with psoriasis. Ever since that time, the FDA has fast-tracked new medications to come to the market.

What does Psoriasis Action Month mean?

Now that you have a little more information about how Psoriasis Action Month was established, you might be asking "What is Psoriasis Action Month?"

Psoriasis Action Month plain and simple is taking action to treat your psoriasis. With all the available treatments there are on the market currently, no one should be sitting back and not treating their psoriasis.

If you are on treatment but you still struggle with anxiety or depression, then take action. If you have an opportunity to do something to not let psoriasis hold you back, take action. By taking action we take control of our lives without letting psoriasis control us.

How I am celebrating Psoriasis Action Month

In celebration of Psoriasis Action Month, I have taken action in dealing with my anxiety. For me, that meant starting out with a trip to my doctor to say that my anxiety medication was not keeping the anxiety under control.

The doctor told me that we could go up on the medication I am currently on or if I felt I needed to talk to someone, he could refer me to another type of doctor. I decided to try increasing the medication.

I can now say it is mid-week and the anxiety is not as bad. That's my psoriasis action. What could be yours? If you have already done an action toward making your life better with psoriasis, then please comment below so we can all share in on congratulating you on a job well done. It is only when we do something that action becomes awareness.