Stress is a common trigger for psoriasis flare-ups and leads to significant emotional challenges in living with this skin condition. Learning stress reduction techniques can be an important part of your treatment plan. They can reduce the likelihood and severity of flare-ups, make treatment more effective, and help you manage your mental health.
“For those suffering from somatic stress expressions, physical stress reduction techniques such as exercise, yoga, meditation, deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and massage are often useful,” says Arthur H. Brand, PhD, a licensed psychologist in Boca Raton, FL .
Here are real-world stress reduction tips from people who describe in their own words how they are using them to manage their psoriasis flare-ups.
My 6 steps to relieve stress and psoriasis
Daisy Mack, 37, Los Angeles
Stress has been the trigger for my psoriasis since I was 3 years old and my first episode followed a huge family financial struggle. When I was 15, I went to high pressure boarding school on a full academic scholarship and my psoriasis exploded. Nothing could control it.
Five years later, at university, my psoriatic arthritis got so bad that I couldn’t get up. I was hospitalized and had all kinds of treatment, but nothing really worked.
And then, at the age of 24, a friend took me to a hot yoga class. Sweating in a room full of love and community was revolutionary. Nobody made me feel guilty about my skin. After fifteen minutes I was in the flow and stopped thinking about everything. Within 6 months my skin started to clear. After 2 years I stopped all medication.
At 37, I am not psoriasis free, but I am able to manage relapses through specific stress-relief practices. I’ve even switched jobs to bring the same healing to others as a health coach. I like quick things that can instantly pull me back from a stressful moment, rather than “self-care” that requires planning.
Here are my contact points:
Breath work
We often breathe from the top of our chest using short, shallow breaths that signal our body that it is in a fight, flight, or freeze mode. Instead, you stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system by deep breathing and go into the quieter “rest-and-digest” mode. In the mornings, I breathe mindfully while putting on my sneakers to walk the dog. At the end of the day, I get on my yoga mat and do gentle, relaxing movements with deep abdominal breathing. I see my breath as a massage for my heart and my whole body relaxes.
Visualization
This is an amazing tool and you can do it in 3 minutes. I just calm down and envision a goal like being clear skin or pain free when my arthritis flares up. Just without being able to imagine the illness can help reduce stress until your body has caught up with your thoughts.
sleep
I quit my job at the company because I only got 4 hours of sleep at night, and that added to my stress and flare-ups. I train myself to sleep 7 hours a night. Sometimes I only get 6 1/2 but sometimes I get more and I see the difference in my skin.
Yoga or other exercises
Any form of exercise can be a great stress reliever, but for me, yoga is the most important thing. It enables emotional release and connects me with my body. I think your body is easy to part with when you have psoriasis. If my yoga doesn’t fit in, I roll out my mat, put my legs against the wall, and center myself for a few minutes.
Spending time with pets
My four-legged friends – three dogs and a cat – are essential to my healing journey. My cat has been with me for 10 years and was part of the early days of my life without psoriasis. I know some people can’t have them because dander and hair can be flare triggers, but having a deep, loving connection with my pets has been an absolute salvation for me.
Dancing in my living room
Dancing as if nobody is watching is my most pleasant form of stress relief. Hanging on your favorite song removes you from stressed or anxious moments and lifts your mood immediately. It only takes a few minutes and can be very effective.
Keeping my life organized helps control my psoriasis
Andrea Fryk, 38, Tallahassee, Florida
At different points in my life, the stress that causes my psoriasis has been different. When I was a teenager, dealing with all the insecurities of life at that age made it flare up badly. Now, I’m a mom with a full-time career as a real estate agent, doing both in the middle of a pandemic. These are my stressors now.
Recently, my mother tested positive for COVID-19. While I was in the emergency room worrying about the unimaginable, I kept scratching my head. My scalp is where my psoriasis always manifests itself. It gets so painful and itchy. I turned the treatment on and off. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But my stress relief practices always seemed to be more effective than medicine. Here are my top 4.
Stay organized
When there’s so much going on between work and family that I don’t have time to do what to do at home, take care of my health, exercise, and eat well, then I notice flare-ups and it really hurts. But when I am able to plan my meals, manage my time, and keep my house in order – all of the things that make me more successful in my business, marriage, and mother – my psoriasis is at its best. My mom is better now, and yesterday I spent time preparing for my week. I wrote in my planner and journal to feel centered, to find clarity and to connect with gratitude.
gratitude
Focusing on the blessings and the good in my life is very comforting and it really helps. At dinner my family talks about our ups and downs, which makes us smile and gives us a good perspective. In the evening I pray with my children. We thank God for our blessings. And I write about it in my diary.
time for me
My husband is an early riser and I am a night owl. So when the kids are asleep and he’s in bed, I take time to sit with myself and my thoughts. Everything is calm and calm. I end up staying up longer than I probably should, but it’s the only time I have to myself and it centers me. I also try to fit in other little self-care moments like a long hot shower or bath, a phone call with my sister, family or friends, or my hobbies: painting and scrapbooking, which I really enjoy.
Connection with my husband
In this phase of life (with a 4 year old and a 9 year old) it is difficult for my husband and I to have time alone. But whenever we can find a moment to connect or go on a date, it really helps. He knows me better than anyone, so talking to him about everyday struggles is really stress relieving.
How my spiritual practice helps control my psoriasis
Howard Chang, 50, Sacramento, California
I had my first psoriasis flare-up when I was 8 years old and was recovering from a sore throat. The infection and the stress it put on my body triggered the psoriasis. More than 40 years later, stress is still a trigger for my flare-ups, but I’ve found a way to control stress and minimize flare-ups: meditation and prayer.
I first made the connection between stress and my flare up in high school. I went to the Psoriasis Research Institute in Palo Alto and learned how to use biofeedback to lower my heart rate and blood pressure, which I found fascinating.
I started to combine biofeedback with my spiritual practice. I am an ordained minister now, and prayer and meditation are two ways I calm my mind, center myself, and seek peace. I also go for walks, hike and listen to soft music. There is no wonder a magical cure for psoriasis. My skin can be very hard, but I definitely see a difference in my ability to cope with and manage my flare-ups.
In fact, I don’t think I would have survived without these practices. The emotional and psychological aspects of psoriasis matter. I was depressed and anxious at points in my life when it was really bad. I was suicidal. Without my beliefs and my spiritual practices, I could not have got through this.
And without them, I probably wouldn’t have the energy for my treatments. They can cost a lot of energy and time, drive to the clinic for phototherapy, put ointments on my skin. It takes a lot from you. And then there is the social and relationship stress of dealing with people who see your skin.
For me everything is connected – mind, body, heart and soul. If you don’t manage your heart and mind, then you will not be managing your physical health.
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