I'm on a Path Towards Accepting My Psoriasis

Getting a diagnosis of psoriasis can really turn your world upside down. When I was first diagnosed at the age of 11, I didn’t really think much of it. At the time, the condition affected just my scalp and with the right shampoos and ointments, we were able to bring it under control.

Learning and growing with psoriasis

But when it spread when I was a teenager, that’s when the mental health problems really started. I became anxious and depressed. I was worried about what people would think and whether they would single me out or bully me. Things changed as I got older. I still worried about the condition and it’s only really been the last few years that I have come to think of it as something that’s part of me. That its something I can’t do much about.

Having said that, it’s important to remember that my psoriasis journey is a lot different now than when I was a teenager.

Continue to try and learn

Back then I had psoriasis practically everywhere: from my scalp to my toenails. Now, I only have bits and bobs of scaling and plaques. Luckily, it is quite localized and doesn’t cause me too many issues. I do worry about whether it will affect me more, but given I am on a biologic injection, it seems to be only affecting me slightly.

I have read many stories about people struggling to accept this condition. They, too, are on treatments but finding many of them not working to the standard they would like. I have had many treatments, including two biologic injections, an oral medication, phototherapy, and many creams and ointments.

Am I at the stage yet where trying all of this has helped me to accept this condition? I would say so. I am definitely on a path of acceptance that I wasn’t on a few years back. But, I hesitate to say that I have accepted the condition, purely because I don’t think I have yet. I am, as I say, on a path towards that.

It has less of a hold on me

Now, why don’t I say I have accepted the condition yet? Because it’s not as severe as it used to be, and I think, in all honesty, I would still be struggling if it was. Psoriasis is such a mean condition. It’s so visible. It bleeds. It causes pain and discomfort. It’s tough. Really tough.

As I grow older and grow with the condition, I am finding it has less of a hold on me. Relationships are becoming less of a problem, I’ve noticed my conversational skills improving, and I am not focused on worrying about the disease as much anymore.

Dealing with the mental side of the condition is so important to reduce worrying. Having a therapist or speaking with family members and friends can really reduce the grip this condition has on your life. Yet, it doesn’t cure the overall impact of the condition. To cure that, you have to learn to accept psoriasis and accept that it’s a lifelong condition.

One more steps towards freeing yourself

Psoriasis will never go away. It may go into remission or have periods when the plaques and flakes are less severe. But it will never fully go. You won’t know when it will flare again. You won’t know when it will go into remission. But it will always be there. You have the genes.

Being on a path towards acceptance will help towards freeing yourself. It will take the hold the condition has over you and diminish it. Locking it out from sucking all the goodness that life has to offer. I am on that path, let’s hope you are too.