Writing About Psoriatic Arthritis

Arthritis Walk 2011

This is my first piece for Healthline on a topic I’ve not really written about – my health. I’ve not really considered writing about Psoriatic Arthritis It all started with this tweet – a callout for a writer who also had PsA:

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WritingCommunity Seeking pitches from writers living with #psoriaticarthritis. Interested in POVs about the experience of living with your condition as well as tip-based content! email in bio. #chronicillness #disabledwriters #spoonies

I didn’t know what Healthline was looking for in particular when it came to Psoriatic Arthritis but I sent an email and learned they wanted someone to write about “Things I Wish People Understood About Psoriatic Arthritis.”

I was really apprehensive about taking this assignment because I did not want to write an article that prompted pity or came across as wanting anyone to feel sorry for me but I also wanted to be honest about autoimmune disease and PsA in particular. There’s a balance there. There’s also a vulnerability.

“There’s no runny nose to signal to everyone else that I’m constantly in the midst of battle. I’ve always wanted a T-shirt that read, “I’m so bad, I kick my own ass.”

Needless to say, I wrote the article 8 Things I Wish People Understood About Psoriatic Arthritis and I do hope you’ll read it. Linked below:


For more articles from Bonnie on Health check out her Clips Page Here or click on the recommended articles below:

3-Ingredient Peach Smoothie

This is one of my favorite smoothies to make. It is great for expectant moms (Dad’s too) and is packed with Folic Acid and Vitamin C and it tastes great. If you’re in the “trying” stage of planning for baby, make sure you serve it to dad, folic acid is important for him to keep his swimmers healthy! Oh, the kids will love it too!

Peach smoothie for MomsThis recipe makes one smoothie

1. Start with the frozen peaches I use about half of a 10oz bag for making one smoothie. Toss those into the blender or food processor. Zap those first, but hold on to the machine while you press the button to start it. The machine will bounce and jump, but you need to reduce the frozen peaches down to little pellets before adding the other ingredients or else you’ll end up with chunky frozen peach soup.

peaches in precessor2. Add one little green container of Activia peach yogurt. Blend

3. Add orange juice little-by-little until you reach the desired consistency.

4. Sometimes I add a little bit of Splenda to the smoothie if I got a less-than-sweet batch or frozen peaches. Taste before you make the final zap and then serve. These are sooooo good!

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