Friday, May 08, 2009

Stress and HeartBreak

I do not have dandruff.
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This will come as a shock to anyone who has seen me lately in a black shirt. I look like PigPen from Charlie Brown - only covered in Los Angeles Fire Ash.
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No. I have inherited from my father many things, most of the bad. Charm, used primarily to get me out of jams and (in the old days) into young men's pants. And ability to judge a jealous spouse from 40 paces. A propensity towards belly fat that has reared it's head in my advanced years and this....
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The Heartbreak of Psoriasis.
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Funny thing about Psoriasis.... Okay, two funny things. Okay one funny thing and one sadly ironic thing.
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Funny thing: Psoriasis is an OVERactive response to skin irritation. That is, Psoriasis is when your body makes new skin cells faster than they are needed, pushing older, healthy skin cells off, often bringing your capillaries close to the epidermis (a fancy way of saying that you bleed if you scratch your head too vigorously). Most medicines are not concerned with fixing positive responses.
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Second thing - this is the sadly ironic one: My Psoriasis gets worse as I get stressed. Like say I have to have an interview. Or look good for a wedding. Or have a big meeting that I am not really ready for. Suddenly my shoulders look like I am wearing little white epaulets.
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That is the good thing about my Psoriasis, and I knock wood every time. It is much better to have it on your head, where it looks like you have uncontrollable dandruff, than on visible skin. My relatives had it on their shoulders, arms and chest. Where it looks like white scabs. It is not attractive.
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I note this now because, as you might have guessed, the looming date of September 1st is making me uncomfortable. And my body is reacting poorly. Every where I go I seem to travel in my own little snowglobe of flakey skin.
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I never should have given up smoking weed. (You know had I done it in college, which I didn't.)