“The terrible thing about psoriasis is that it is capricious…often it does whatever the hell it wants to, whenever it wants to do it. While life stress is a known trigger, sometimes it flares for no damn reason,” says dermatologist and clinical psychologist Richard Fried, MD, PhD, of Yardley, PA. Studies have shown that people living under unpredictable circumstances that can’t be controlled become angry, depressed, and anxious. To help give patients a sense of hope and control over their lives, Fried provides specific tools that combine traditional and complementary medicines, including deep breathing exercises, self talk, muscle relaxation, hypnosis, yoga, tai chi, and biofeedback training. “We are finding more concrete evidence that using mind/body interventions not only makes people feel better, but makes their biology respond better,” says Fried. For example, in a study of psoriasis patients undergoing ultraviolet light treatment, the people who combined the treatment with listening to a mindful meditation tape reduced the amount of ultraviolet radiation necessary to clear the psoriasis by 50%. Yet one snag to any psoriasis treatment is that what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another. For Toni Ann Little, lymphatic massage helped ease both her psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis at several different points in her life. She turned to lymphatic massage not only because it felt good, but also because she found comfort in having the therapist touch her sores and apply lotion. “It means everything that someone will touch you as if there is nothing wrong with you,” says Little. Human touch, as well as acceptance of the condition, is so important that Fried offers his patients a 15-minute visualization audiotape. Using guided imagery, they are directed to envision their hand as sunlight and then to touch their psoriasis. Finding what works for you A genetic autoimmune disease, psoriasis causes the body to send faulty signals to the skin, which then grows every 3 to 5 days, rather than the normal 30 days. Unable to shed itself quickly enough, skin piles up and becomes inflamed and covered by white flakes that can cause a maddening itch. “I’m always itching, and I’m more antsy than most people,” says Leslie Kronish, first diagnosed at age 10. She deals with the discomfort of her psoriasis in one of two ways. “One is total denial, where I try to forget it. The other is being so ultra-aware of it that it’s very distracting, both the pain and the itch, and I try to brush it [the white flakes] off as it’s falling so that it’s not on my shoulders and pants,” she says. She also practices deep breathing to contain the stress, a technique that helps her find some internal calm. MORE: 7 Things Your Skin Is Trying To Tell You Yet ultimately, Kronish feels she is in a chicken-versus-egg situation when it comes to managing her psoriasis. “I’m unsure if stress and anxiety are making it worse, or if the fact it’s getting more severe is creating the stress and anxiety.“It’s a dilemma that physicians also try to figure out. “Dermatologists are growing to appreciate the idea that a skin disease like psoriasis is a two-way street: It causes emotional distress, and emotional distress can worsen the psoriasis,” says Fried, who creates a comprehensive treatment plan to help reduce a patient’s levels of stress and distress. Tai chi is one method that some use for stress relief. This gentle martial art “quiets the mind and calms the body. When the mind is quiet, the body will follow,” says Troyce Thome, who teaches yoga and tai chi at Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA. Thome, a former Master Trainer for the Arthritis Foundation’s Tai Chi for Arthritis Program—approximately 10 to 30% of people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis—has, since her 20s, occasionally experienced mild psoriasis outbreaks. She believes, however, that tai chi, which she has practiced for more than 14 years, may be keeping the disease at bay. (Interested? See how you can get started.) Dietary changes are another way some psoriasis sufferers attempt to control the disease. One detailed regimen called the Pagano Diet focuses on six principles: internal cleansing, proper diet, herbal teas, spinal adjustments, external ointments, and thinking that focuses on healing the psoriasis. Deirdre Earls, who was a registered dietitian for 5 years, took matters into her own hands by devising her own diet based on macrobiotic cooking, which she now teaches to others with psoriasis. “In July 2002, my psoriasis had gotten to a point on my palms that I had to pick up a glass with two hands. When I drove my car, I had to use my fingertips because I could not get my hands around the steering wheel,” she says. A psoriasis sufferer since age 13, she was required by the new diet to cut out meat, spicy foods, and alcohol. Any inconvenience that Earls has experienced has been worth it, she says: “Since I’ve changed over, I have not taken a single prescription medication for my psoriasis, and my skin has cleared overall across my body by 90%.” MORE: DIY Solutions For Itchy Skin
