Psoriasis Awareness Week 2015

Firstly I want to say a big thank you to everybody who has viewed, shared, tweeted, liked and responded to my recent contagious post for UK Psoriasis Awareness Week - I've had such amazing feedback already and am so proud that I could be part of something so special.

There's a lot of us out there battling with similar things, which is why it is so important for us to talk about it in order to realise that we're not alone and that we have nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I'd have found this support and spoke out about it at a much younger age, as looking back I do regret that I let it stop me from doing some of the things I really wanted to do. Would it stop me now? Hell no! Watch me go.

I've just received another video from our day of filming with @PhilipsBlueLED and Schuco. It's similar to the last but this also features two fantastic experts in the field of dermatology - Dr Anjali Mahto and Dr. Adam Friedmann of Harley Street, London.

If you haven't been diagnosed with psoriasis but you think you have it, then my first piece of advice would be to visit your GP and once it's confirmed ask to be referred to a dermatologist. GP's can only treat your condition so much, they're not experts in skin and tend to give very generic treatments that aren't always best suited to you. You might have to wait for six months or so for your appointment, but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Dermatologists are invaluable for psoriasis patients as they are medical experts who are specifically focused on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the skin, hair and nails - they've seen psoriasis of all shapes and sizes and are your best port of call for prescribing treatments.

So if you don't have one - get one.

Psoriasis is NOT contagious!

When I was 13 I took my little sister swimming at the local pool. After about ten minutes of splashing around in the shallow water I was asked to come out of the pool to have a chat with the lifeguard, where I was asked to leave the poolside immediately as there had been complaints from other swimmers that I was contagious. I stood at the side of the pool, as a self-conscious teenager angry and upset trying to explain that it was only psoriasis, it wasn't contagious and that I wasn't causing any harm to anybody. The lifeguard (who in hindsight was very poorly trained to deal with this situation) failed to listen and put the concerns of others over mine, insisting that I must leave straightaway and take this up with the manager once I was dressed and away from the concerned onlookers. 

This wasn't the first time that somebody had asked if I was contagious, but it was one of my earliest memories of somebody showing zero understanding of the condition or compassion towards the sufferer, stood in front of them crying with frustration and embarrassment. 

It was because of this early memory and my internal fury when asked if I am contagious that when contacted by @PhilipsBlueLED and Schuco, I jumped at the opportunity to get involved with a video that aimed to raise the awareness of psoriasis and dispel the contagious myth for UK Psoriasis Awareness Week 2015 (1-8 Nov).

I have to confess that I am not the biggest fan of being filmed, so I was a little nervous with the idea of having to tell my story and show my psoriasis in front of the camera. However, after arriving at the venue and meeting Bryony and Lee (fellow psoriasis sufferers) I felt so inspired by their bravery and enthusiasm to also help raise awareness that all nerves were turned to excitement and we had so much fun! 

And here it is, the first of our videos...

If you are affected by psoriasis, we'd love to hear from you! Get involved with UK Psoriasis Awareness Week 2015 by sharing your experience, help to spread our message on social media using #psoriasisawarenessweek and talk about it with friends and family. 

If you have any questions for me, I can be reached on liannespsoriasis@gmail.com or on twitter @fixmypsoriasis

New TV series, psoriasis sufferers needed

I am a terrible person and have neglected this blog for too long! A lot has happened since my last post, and I do keep meaning to find time to update you on it. I am currently taking a three month break and travelling round SE Asia. This blog isn't an update on that, however (sorry!) 

I've been contacted by a lovely research team called Betty who are working on a Documentary Series for Discovery about Medical conditions such as Psoriasis and relationships.

 

They're looking to have a chat with anybody with psoriasis (or any other skin condition) for some research for the programme - more information and contact details on the image below x

A very belated Happy New Year!

So, yes, a very belated Happy New Year! Don’t worry, I haven’t lost the plot, or the ability to tell the date or time. I’ve been busy squirrelling away, making sure that I started 2015 as dedicated to my personal cause as possible. I’ll admit that the festive season completely ran away with me, so the majority of my time and energy was spent trying to a) stay awake (I have to really fight the urge to hibernate in winter) b) eat as well as I could, given the amount of work related lunches, dinners and parties I had to attend, it was not easy c) control my seemingly uncontrollable psoriasis as much as possible – it too struggles to survive the cold winter months!

At the beginning of 2015 I flew out to see my auntie in Cologne. This was the perfect way to start the year, as I was able to take myself away from my everyday surroundings, from the daily grind of work, the hustle and bustle of London and allow myself a few days to really reflect on last year and think about this year ahead.

I spent five days chilling out, kick starting a cleaner way of eating and generally detoxing from the festive season, whilst continually asking myself what do I want to achieve in 2015, what lifestyle choices do I want to embrace and what habits do I want to kick?

The following five points resurfaced every time I revisited these questions, so at the end of my break I wrote them down in my journal and flew back to London with my 2015 intentions:

Fix my psoriasis – through research and trial and error (all of which I intend to document on here) I will find a way to fix my psoriasis!  

Explore new foods and change my eating habit – the whole purpose for me starting this blog was to explore the health benefits that food and certain diets can offer to psoriasis sufferers and to try them out

Quit smoking – I actually decided to quit on New Year’s Day, and so far so good - 41 days and counting! It certainly hasn’t been easy, but the improvement that I have seen to my psoriasis already has made me determined to stick to it

Travel – I have been unsatisfied in my current situation for a while, and part of this is down to my growing itch to travel. This year I will take the plunge and embark on an adventure

Become more mindful – I’ve been practising yoga for a few years now, and last year I started to explore the benefits of mindfulness and meditation (more on this later). My job is generally high pressured, and London-living can get hectic and stressful. I’ve found that trying to be conscious and aware of the present situation, has really helped me to gain perspective on some things and find ways to deal with them other than through stress

Since returning I have made significant headway with some of the points above (I know, I know, it’s still early days) but things like quitting smoking, focusing on an alkaline diet (more on this later) and completely cutting out meat have already started to show massive improvements to my skin.

I’m learning so much each day, and am excited to get this all written down to share with you all as well as tracking the progress of my psoriasis.

More from me soon :) x

As always, I’d love to hear from you so please do get in touch with any comments or questions.