If you could give advice about psoriatic arthritis to your younger self, what would you say? Hear real stories in these videos of everyday people who live with the condition.

Finding Emotional Health With Psoriatic Arthritis

Noelia Ferreyra

Living with Psoriatic Arthritis: Memo to Me

![m2m-title-slide-750x500](//images.ctfassets.net/yixw23k2v6vo/3urOW7Ua8fvPlMiqkjByxS/1aec1b060316e32baa27c63abf6e7ef5/m2m-title-slide-900x600_1_.jpg)

Jim Snedden

Jeannette Gladstone

David Tostrud

Mike Bozyczko

Summer Scirrocco

Grace Tanner

Jeff Berkowitz

Steve Garcia

Stacy Romanias

Julie Cerrone

Michelle Lewis

Lori-Ann Holbrook

Bianca Reed

Deeane Quist

Every morning I wake up, I hope for willpower.

Willpower to keep me from eating the spicy, sugary foods that make my joints ache and my skin itch. Willpower to redirect me towards healthy, fibrous, [inflammation-fighting](https://www.healthcentral.com/slideshow/10/) fruits and vegetables. Willpower to ignore the painful swelling on the ball of my right foot and go for a walk. Willpower to do anything but crash on the couch when I get home at night.

And every night, I celebrate my accomplishments and forgive myself for falling short — sometimes in big ways, and sometimes in small.

I never thought I’d need a chronic disease to teach me about self-acceptance. I’d spent the previous thirty years beating myself up for every transgression or step off a self-prescribed path; psoriatic arthritis changed my life forever, and in a wholly unexpected way.  

I got my diagnosis immediately after giving birth to my daughter. (Ladies, not all pregnancy swelling is created equal.) My daughter and my disease came hand-in-hand; it’s difficult to manage one without the other. An example: Opening up tight, tiny socks and shoes for happy, wiggly feet is by far one of the hardest tasks to complete with arthritis in your hands. Adjusting a sticky highchair tray is a close second. The good comes with the bad.

Early on in my diagnosis, while I was still on maternity leave, my joint stiffness was present but not yet painful. Thanks to my very low-key baby, I had plenty of time to read up on the disease and learn how to manage it myself. I had time for dermatologist, rheumatologist, hematologist and PCP appointments. I learned how to take care. I learned how to ask for help.

Because once things got more complicated, self-preservation still lingered in the back of my mind. I returned to work, and I wasn’t sleeping well thanks to nighttime feedings. I wasn’t eating as well; the office kitchen is rife with temptation. I felt like I had no time to exercise. I was stressed. But nothing stays the same. Like parenthood, living with a chronic disease requires constant adjustments.

My daughter puts her own shoes on now – socks are still a struggle; we love summer! – but, since then, my arthritis has worsened. I didn’t have time to exercise or sleep well before, but both don’t come easy now with ever-present aches in my joints. [I adjust](https://www.healthcentral.com/slideshow/beyond-yoga-how-to-keep-joints-flexible-with-psoriatic-arthritis/). I move slower and I am more thoughtful with my time. I forgive myself again and again.

And, another unforeseen bonus: The people who love me recognize when I need help. I no longer need to ask for it. Just yesterday, after days and days of humidity culminated in swollen, deep-joint soreness like I’ve never experienced before, I came home and laid down while my husband cooked an omega 3-rich dinner and dressed our daughter for bed. ([He’s been good to me](https://www.healthcentral.com/article/the-unspoken-rules-of-love-when-you-have-a-chronic-condition/).) I conserved my energy, read a story to my daughter, put her to bed and curled up on the couch for a movie.

It’s not every day I can manage to take care, but the self-preservation kick is always with me. I know if I do something kind for myself each day — go to bed a little earlier; fit in a walk; eat something green with each meal — I’m on the right track. And if I don’t, well, there’s always tomorrow.

Woman stretching and looking at the sunrise.

Stretching-iStock-912257262

Casey never expected psoriatic arthritis to teach her about self-acceptance. Read her essay about how she learned to live with this challenging condition, and the lessons she'd learned along the way.

Diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis after her daughter was born, Casey had a hard road with chronic illness. Here's how she learned to live with her condition. 

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