Keeping at It: Small Tasks to Improve the Pains of Psoriatic Disease

There are things that we have lost along the way when living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Over which for the most part, we have no control. It has been quite a journey for me, to figure out which are still within my control and which really are not.

Tasks and tips to improve the pains of psoriatic disease

Some days, I realize I relinquish control to things that I really should not be giving in to. That the things that I feel are out of my control, actually are not.

It seems easier to place blame or just purely accept that there were things I could no longer do. So I gave up without putting in too much effort into making it better.

Brain fog

This is the one that really got me, I used to forget nothing and remember everything. From shopping lists to birthdays coming up. I would recall the smallest to the more important details with ease. Let me tell you, that changed dramatically.

I now need to keep a diary for birthdays, holidays and high days. Equally important I can hardly remember the six things on my shopping list. This is in the time that it takes from my front door to the store.  Consequently, I am often coming home without the things that I needed in the first place.

Ways to improve brain fog

I have found though that playing memory games has dramatically improved this for me. They do not even need to be really sophisticated games, just a memory card game can help with this. I play them with my daughter and she really enjoys them.

This also leads to us spending more one on one time together, which there is never enough of. We play ones with actual cards and also the digital version on our tablet.

Movement

These boots are made for walking and that is what they'll do. One of my favorite songs and admittedly an earworm. Walking is one of the best ways to keep moving, I enjoy the gym so much but I want to say that walking has been more effective. If you walk a little bit more every day, you will find that before long you are walking a lot further than you were able to in the beginning.

It will also feel as if it was done without too much effort. Keeping moving with psoriatic arthritis has been so important to me.  Due to my work, I do not walk a lot and I found that my joints and tendons would get really stiff. Subsequently, the less I moved the worse this got.

Ways to improve movement

I increase the distance I walk and the number of steps I take, bit by bit every day. Before long, I had made my way from a measly 3000 steps a day to around 9000 steps a day. Little by little, I have conquered movement and now I can move without seizing up. 

Stretching is the next thing that I began adding to my daily add ons. Hopefully, with time, I will be able to increase my flexibility too. I find with my psoriatic arthritis, that I am not half as supple as I used to be.

Keep the small tasks going

We often underestimate the effect of keeping the small things going. Do you have any daily or regular practices that help keep the effects of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis at bay? 

To hold on to and control the things that we still can, has a huge positive impact on our lives. I do think it also gives us courage and strength. Keep fighting the good fight.