Stress and Psoriasis Have a Proven Link

From allure.com

To effectively treat this condition, we need to examine how it looks and how it feels

There's a proven link between psoriasis and stress, which — for the eight million Americans living with the autoimmune condition — makes tending to mental well-being just as important as treating physical symptoms. 

Studies have shown that people dealing with stress caused by major life events are at a higher risk of developing psoriasis. And those who have already been diagnosed with psoriasis report higher levels of stress.

These stories are living proof of that cyclical relationship — and that the mental and physical side effects of psoriasis must be treated as one.

STRESS CONTROL

By Ivy Smith, model and actor

After I gave birth to my second child, I started seeing flakes on my scalp. I thought it was dandruff. Then I noticed white scaly patches on the back of my ear, my neck, and my arms. I figured I’d just had a baby, my skin was acting up.

Over the course of a year, it got progressively worse. I tried anti-dandruff shampoo, but my scalp physically hurt. I worried, Is my hair going to fall out? Am I contagious? Everything was going through my head. I was already very stressed out because I was a new mom, and I was having relationship issues, which didn’t help.

My primary care physician told me I had psoriasis. It was scary because I didn’t know what it was. She said I had to see a dermatologist, but my insurance wasn’t that good; I’d have to pay out of pocket. So my doctor gave me what she thought was best — an ointment, an oral medication — but none of it worked.

It was two years of trial and error before I went to a new general practitioner who gave me a prescription shampoo — it calmed my itchy scalp, but left me with white patches, and didn’t help the rest of my skin. Finally, I went to a dermatologist, who gave me more topical solutions to try, like a steroid cream, which has helped my skin but not the psoriasis under my nails.

When I get stressed, my psoriasis comes back with a vengeance. The fact that I have to try not to stress out also stresses me out. I often wonder if things would be different if I hadn't been so stressed in my life when the symptoms first started.

More than a decade later, I’m still insecure about my psoriasis. My kids don’t even know I have it. I’m a model and actress, so I try to tell makeup artists and hairstylists about my psoriasis ahead of time. Some of them have it too and can relate, but sometimes I have to explain what it is, and that there’s nothing to be scared of. Nobody is perfect. We’re all unique in our own way.

COMMUNITY CARE

By Holly Dillon, founder of @GetYourSkinOut, a campaign on Instagram that supports and empowers those living with autoimmune and skin conditions
When I was 14, I noticed a spot at the bottom of my chin and went to my general practitioner, who diagnosed it as guttate psoriasis. At that age, you are very much coming into your own, and having something that presents on your face was a real learning curve. I had to understand how I could live with psoriasis, physically and mentally. By the time I was 18, psoriasis covered 98 percent of my body.

My treatment started with topical creams, steroid creams, and then moved on to UVA and UVB light treatment. Between ages 18 and 23, I got light treatments that required me to be in the hospital up to five days a week, an hour or two a day. Balancing that with university and then work was a huge challenge. It was difficult to cope, especially because each light treatment gave me only temporary relief.

My doctors said I’d failed all available treatments. I didn’t know what my life was going to be like, or where to find support. I went home and cried to my family, saying, “There have to be more people like me.” I decided to document my treatment with the help of a photographer friend, Lewis Khan. I put it on Instagram to find more people who understood what I was going through. I got thousands of replies from all over the world — and that’s how #GetYourSkinOut was born. Four years on, it’s grown to be a global movement for positivity, inclusive of all conditions and body types, psoriasis and beyond.

You cannot underestimate the impact living with a condition can have on mental health. The physical and mental must be treated and thought of as one. For me, I’ve gotten to understand my psoriasis by listening to my body — through rest, mindfulness, meditation, and having a balance in my life.

https://www.allure.com/story/psoriasis-mental-health-effects