Do I Want to Be a Psoriasis Warrior?

Have you come across the term psoriasis warrior? If you use social media to find support, then I imagine you have. It's a great hashtag to search on Instagram or twitter if you are looking for a bit of #mondaymotivation. The thing is, I am not entirely sure that I am one, or that I want to be.

My vision of a psoriasis warrior

When I picture a psoriasis warrior, I see someone who is fighting against the disease. Like a me vs. you scenario; a scene from street fighter playing out in my mind. I am there with my war paint on wearing a slightly awesome manga inspired outfit, and psoriasis is there, made from rock and looking unmovable. For some reason I am female, and psoriasis seems to be male, I’m sure there is a physiological insight in there somewhere but let's not dwell. Psoriasis is made of sandstone, so he flakes a little on contact.

Me versus psoriasis

The problem for me is that the term psoriasis warrior makes me feel a little unsettled like the words are not quite in the right order. I don't want to smash up the psoriasis rock guy. It feels wrong. I think this is because we have lived together for so long, him and I. I have tried to ask him to leave, but he won't go. There have been some forceful evictions, but he was right back there before I knew it. I have genuinely accepted he is part of my life, although there was not much of a choice element in this decision I admit. Sometimes he has saved me from some deleterious situations (and terribly revealing outfits), but I don't believe he is there. He isn't real. He is in my mind. This may sound a bit deep or maybe a bit disillusioned, but he is me, and I am him. That is how I see it.

I am not fighting against psoriasis as we are the same. Instead, I am seeking true health. I see my psoriasis as a symptom of a deeper problem. As I get older, my skin slowly worsens, and I gain additional issues, most recently I acquired guttate psoriasis. I know something is not working as it should, and I need to find out what it is. Quietly working away on self-experimentation instead of launching a full frontal attack.

A different kind of warrior?

A warrior also sounds angry. They have a deeper purpose, and that purpose is fighting passionately for something they believe in. I want to fight because I am angry about some aspects of living with psoriasis. I want to fight against social stigma, patriarchal health care and for equal access to mental health support. These are the issues that could be solved, but currently make living with psoriasis so much harder than it needs to be. These are the issues I never want my children to have to deal with should they develop psoriasis during their lifetimes.

So maybe I am a psoriasis warrior after all. Only I am fighting for education and social change.