Living everyday with Psoriasis

Really need someone to proof read and edit this for me please. I know there is a lot of mistakes, but if someone does a good job or wants to edit m future writing i will give a shoutout to you.

Everyday life with Psoriasis

 

The Ugly

      Living everyday with any disease is hard and comes with big downs and a few ups.  Most people in the world don’t even know what psoriasis is. Unfortunately for the seven million plus people in America that do have it, we suffer every day. In my experience there is only two sides to this disease, the ugly and the good. For this article I want to start with the ugly!

      Anyone living with this disease called psoriasis will tell you that it sucks! Every day of my life is a battle to keep my skin from flaring out into little or big red scales everywhere. My long day starts when I wake up in the morning and ends when I die. I start my day off with the most nutritious breakfast I can make. Keep in mind my diet excludes any dairy, sugar, gluten and red meat, which leaves me with the yummy option of rice cereal or eggs.  After I eat my super fulfilling breakfast I usually have to get ready for work, which to most people is not a big deal. For me though,  I have to leave for work an hour and a half early every day. I do this In order for me to go tanning, which is on the opposite side of town and I still need to be on time for work.  On days that I don’t go tanning I wake up an extra 30 minutes early to apply my topical skin treatments. On the days that I apply my super thick and oily creams, I wear an undershirt to work so the creams don’t stain my work shirts. So now I have to work my butt off in two shirts and be twice as hot all day. After I have completed my long day of work I can no come home and spend another 20 minutes re-applying my skin treatments. If I’m lucky enough then my scalp will be in good enough condition to where I don’t have to apply hemp oil and wear a shower cap to bed.

      So basically, what would be a regular eight hour work day for anyone else, is a 10 hour work day for me. The best part about spending all this time to treat my skin is that most of the time it never works!  It doesn’t matter if I do my treatments every day for the next 6 months, my psoriasis will always be there. The even better thing about that is that the day I stop doing my daily grind, is the day it comes back with all its revenge.

      I think the hardest part of living with this disease is the emotional impact it is has on each of us. The disease isn’t so bad until it’s visible, to the public. When you have little or big red scales and spots all over your arms, legs, neck, face and hands, everyone can see it. Now when you’re walking down the aisle of a grocery store, you are looked at by people more than the grocery’s they are there to buy.  When you have people starring at you because there are red marks all over your body, it sucks. This is something we think about every time we step outside our homes; Can people see my psoriasis? What will they think? Are they staring at me? Why me?

      Every sense I have had my psoriasis I look up into the sky at night, standing under the stars and I ask is a calm voice, why me?

      I don’t know the answer to that question just yet, but the fact is I live with psoriasis every day. It will not go away and there is not cure for it. I must now find a way to pick myself up and live life as if I did not have a chronic disease.

 

The Good

      Living an everyday life with a constant battle to be normal is hard. I have been to many dark places in my mind and in my soul, but I have learned that there is a good side to the ugly one. As much as I hate my disease I know that it has made me a better person.

      Before I had psoriasis the only person I ever cared about was me. I was a shallow, self-cenetered and ego-tistic kind of a guy.  Now, it seems all I want to do is help others around me and fight off their battles in life. I think being diagnosed with a chronic disease puts life back into perspective for oneself.  Knowing how much I would have wanted someone to help me in the beginning of this journey, I look to help others starting there’s.

      Not only have I become a greater person but my diet and overall health has become beyond amazing. Having to completely change what I eat, taught me HOW to eat. I was raised on fast food and soda and can’t even remember drinking water as a kid. Now I cook every single night and drink nothing but water which has lost me a lot of weight. Anytime I see someone I have not seen in a while, the first thing they tell me is how much weight I have lost. I have never been in better shape in my life than the last year or so changing my diet because of my disease. 

      While there may be a very ugly side to this disease, there is also the brighter side. I dread going into work every day and hour and a half before hand. I also dread lifting my shirt up in front of people or having to explain what the dots on my arms are. At the end of the day, this is the life I now know and just need to accept it.

      The encouragement I get from people is outstanding and the love I have been shown by those who are close to me is heartwarming. The feeling of being in the best shape of my life is prideful and invigorating. Through all the hardships I face every day I look forward to the days that are brighter and easier. I now look at life as something to enjoy every minute of instead of stressing, being mad or even sad. I would never have been able to put the world into this point of view if it were not for my disease.

      If you are suffering from the same thing or something similar, please know there is hope. The good does outweigh the bad if you let it. 

Author's Note

Really need someone to proof read and edit this for me please. I know there is a lot of mistakes, but if someone does a good job or wants to edit m future writing i will give a shoutout to you on my website and youtube channel "AverageJoesNutrition"

Reviews

[h d e rushin]

"Living an everyday life with a constant battle to be normal is hard", which is the subject of this story,
not having Posriasis . And having to live with this, knowing there is no cure, should be the gist
of the story, as is, overcoming the chronic-ness of it and then working to help others less fortunate.

You have the story James, just in the wrong order..But I consider it brilliant to face one's faults
with amazing bravery. Now whether that is a story worthy of reading or not is something that only
you can decide...

Keep working my friend....Keep reading and working....dana