5 stages of Psoriasis?

Something I was reading on twitter the other day got me thinking about Psoriasis and how you cope with having it.  This goes back to the publication of a paper which showed that those who suffer from psoriasis are more prone to depression than others. I can't even remember the article that was tweeted or who it was tweeted by but it was something to do with mental health in psoriasis sufferers.  What it got me thinking about was something I mentioned in an earlier post....  Does the age at which you first develop psoriasis have any bearing on how you cope with having it?


Take me for example (I can only speak from my own experience), I've had psoriasis since the age of 4.  I'm now almost 36, so that's almost 32 years of having dry, flaky, red, inflamed, itchy skin but I never let it get to me these days.  Why?  I figure that there are stages of psoriasis, like the stages of grief...  You have denial, anger, bargaining (to an extent), depression and acceptance.  Like grieving, dealing with any physical "abnormality" comes with these emotions.  These take time to work through and not everyone manages to get past the depression stage to acceptance.

Looking back on my life I can't honestly say I was ever in denial about having psoriasis (I was too young to understand really) but I know a few with the condition who for years maintained they just had "dry skin" before they were eventually diagnosed. Then again, I hear daily from patients with psoriasis who still think they can be cured, that somehow their psoriasis will miraculously disappear overnight when they try the umpteenth treatment, only to be disappointed again.  I can say with 100% certainty that I have had phases in my life where I got VERY angry about having psoriasis...  The "Why me?" question has passed my lips many, many times over the years.  I've bargained...  Not to any deity in particular, just any one who happened to be listening, obviously that didn't cure my skin!!

Depression seems to be the point where people get stuck... they switch between hope that a treatment will work, and when that fails they become depressed and disheartened.  As I said before, I did the angry and sad thing not really the depression....  I never really hid myself away, although I did cover up most of the time.

It's acceptance that has me scratching my head (not literally or there would be white flakes everywhere) about how you get to this state of being.  It would seem that the younger you are when diagnosed the more likely you are to reach this stage.  I know a few psoriasis survivors who have been diagnosed as adults who have achieved acceptance of their condition but the majority of people I know at this stage are, like me, those diagnosed as young children. Those diagnosed as adults or teens seem less likely to accept their condition and are the ones who need the support of mental health professionals and support groups. It would be interesting to see if there are any papers out there on research into age of onset vs. acceptance of psoriasis.  If not maybe I should re-train and do a study on it.

I don't know how many people actually read this blog, or if anyone is actually on the same wavelength as me. Most other blogs I have read have been quite negative regarding psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis but I guess had I written this maybe a decade or two ago I would have been where they are now.