Psoriasis and mental health?

I agree. My mental health has been terrible. I have had psoriasis since I was 3/ 4 - and have experienced the usual rejection / bullying / shame / self hatred / suicidal ideation since. i'm now 68. It stopped being visible just after my dad died. I think that was significant. Then returned when I was in a coercive controlling relationship with someone very like my dad. The skin is the biggest organ in the body so it wouldn't be surprising if there are mind body connexions. Also - links with the auto immune system / vagus nerve etc. And the psoriasis may well be protecting us from something? I was pleased to see that several hospitals have pyscho dermatology departments - with counselling / psychotherapy available for people who are struggling with self image etc. I hope that children / teenagers these days have better psychological treatment than me. I was hospitalised several times and will always remember one of the nurses saying 'it's a shame - you'd have been quite pretty without the psoriasis." Good luck with yours.

First of all, what awful nurses! So sorry you had to go through that ignorance on top of your suffering! People are so ignorant in this world. There is nothing worse than the people who are supposed to help you actually adding to your suffering. Same, self-hatred, shame, suicidal ideation all the above. Interesting you mentioned bullying actually, I was also bullied and that is something I believe we don't truly understand the impact of. Now I think about it, I got my first patch on my knee around the time my early childhood bullying stopped. I won't go into detail but it was complicated and I was also going through other things at home at the time. I've also suffered from chronic emotional invalidation. Chronic to the point that I've always felt just wrong for being me. Like there is something very very wrong with me, and it is my fault. I guess this is what emotional abuse makes you feel like. I also ended up in an abusive relationship in adulthood (I'm out now thank god.) I didn't suffer badly with psoriasis during the relationship but that may be because I was taking a rather potent cbd extract at the time which I believe kept it away... I no longer take it. Perhaps psoriasis is a rejection of the self. That makes sense to me. Or a type of hiding. Self-blaming? A kind of self-punishment. Anger at the self? As you said, it is an auto-immune condition, where the body is literally attacking itself. So perhaps we are attacking ourselves for something. Interesting how yours disappeared when your Dad died. I won't speculate as to why without knowing the details. I've also recently lost my Dad whom I had a difficult relationship with, probably similar to yours. But I am still self-blaming. Psoriasis protecting us from something, I've had the same thought. I sometimes think it's some kind of self-sabotage to protect us from something else that we really don't want to face. I really think the self-blame thing is significant. Clearly we have both experienced abuse. I have always been made to feel I am not good enough unless I am perfect. Or I will never quite meet the standard required, when in truth, it wouldn't matter what I did, even if I was perfect it would still never be good enough for those who seek to control, invalidate and abuse us. Perhaps we need/needed to truly learn and accept that IT IS NOT OUR FAULT. I am going to try repeating this affirmation daily: 'I fully accept myself and love all parts of myself exactly as I am right now'. Thank you and good luck to you too! And hugs.

Hello, it is actually a very interesting topic of discussion, because I think a lot of us experienced trauma that pushed the psoriasis further. Personally, I relate to the idea of psoriasis having a connection with self-blaming, not accepting one's self. I have experienced severe bullying because of my sexuality and living in a country where your sexuality is not protected and often persecuted definitely added to the self-hatred. And my psoriasis definitely flared up after such an experience. That is why I am curious to try and start allowing myself to be who I am, without any holdbacks. In hopes that maybe letting go is a key to starting the healing journey. Definitely wanted to say thank you for bringing this idea up. Also curious to ask what do you think our our body is trying to protect us from? What is that we are afraid to face...?

For me, psoriasis effects my mental health. It flares up for no identifiable reason and I cannot really identify what control measures I do that I can improve. I have had it for about 30 yrs. Comes and goes. Mostly, there all over body and face. I consider I am successful in life, and 'get on with it', but it's such a day-to-day challenge

I hear you and I too have felt shame and embarrassment and self loathing and why me .At 15 I told my mother i didn’t want to live anymore. I used to stare at other people’s arms and legs and think you don’t know how lucky you are. A particular girl at primary school used to say horrible things to me about my psoriasis. I was too young to remember it but my mother told it set me back and they thought I had learning difficulties. Years later I got a job in a factory and lol and behold she was working there and she had the disease over her elbows and legs! There is a god I thought! This is karma! I wouldn’t wish psoriasis on anybody but this came back to bite her! I have shunned friendships as I got older as people usually want to do things like spa days & going to the beach with the children or sitting in gardens having bbq on hot days and there I would be in trousers and long skirts not really enjoying myself feeling hot and fed up. Now my skin is almost clear due to Methotrexate. I still have no friends as I struggle with being social only when my partner takes me out I will try and make an effort. This life living with psoriasis has had a psychological effect on me. I had counselling but it wasn’t at all helpful.

I am currently suffering from depression and anxiety, I don't know if that came first or the psoriasis but it's much worse now as I feel like isolating and hiding myself so people don't see that im unwell. I feel very unattractive and insecure about my appearance everyday now. I struggle to develop intimate relationships as a result of this insecurity. If anyone wants to reach out email me at shivaleepatel@hotmail.co.uk would love to talk!