Psoriasis, Chronic Pain & Pill Shaming

There is no perfect way to manage the chronic pain associated with diseases like psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Pill shaming discourages taking medications because of taboos and stereotypes attached to it. It can be in a form of discouragement whilst insisting that there are other alternatives that do not involve drugs, that a healthier lifestyle and doing yoga would make it all okay.

The frustrating pain cycle

The pain can come and go in cycles and will likely be different for everyone. Pain and pill shaming is present when you think that a friend, workmate, or family member is less of a person because he depends on medications to be able to function.

This phenomenon is commonly present in the mental health community, but chronic illness sufferers are no exception as they deal with being shamed in taking medications as much as those who struggle with mental illness.

Define "normal"

What pill shamers fail to realize is that being able to move without any pain is a luxury that most chronic illness sufferers cannot afford. What they fail to understand is that medicines do not make you feel normal.

At most, it can only alleviate the symptoms and the pain enough to make you functional. The pain will always be there, but the medications would help us manage it. We know that medicines are not band-aids and they are not a quick fix.

We know that they are not magic potions that would make the illness disappear in an instant. Most of us would trade anything just to be able to have a normal life without the need to rely on drugs to make us feel better.

We are not weak

Please do not tell chronic illness sufferers that they should not take pain killers if their pain is not at a maximum level. Stop forcing them to tolerate more than what they can.

It’s not okay to deprive them of the necessities that they need in order to feel human. Stop shaming them for needing something to take away a pain that you do not understand, and that you have never experienced.

These people are not weak, and they do not have to try to be strong enough to resist popping a pill just to avoid feeling guilty. Having to deal with the pain that comes along with chronic illness is already hard enough, dealing with people who dismiss your need for drugs to seek relief makes it so much harder.

Set the guilty feelings away

If you are dealing with a chronic illness, this is me reminding you that you did not do anything to deserve all this pain, no one does. You did not do anything wrong, you did not fail your body.

Set the guilty feelings away, you do not deserve to be discriminated against for wanting to relieve your symptoms, you do not deserve to be judged for wanting to take the hurt away. You do not have to wait for the worst before you can take a pill.

Remember that in a world full of judgmental and pill-shaming people, you have more reason to be kind most especially to yourself.