The festive season is well and truly behind us, but for some, the fallout still lingers. For those who suffer from psoriasis, a combination of factors over the Christmas can bring on a bad attack.
These include:   Fatty foods   Sweet foods   Alcohol   Large portions   Salty snacks   Late nights   Stress (throw in water shortages, flooding and dangerous driving conditions and the stress factor really goes through the roof.)

This list could just as easily read as the top triggers for liver problems and with good reason.

Whenever psoriasis presents, it’s merely a warning signal from the body that all is not well in the internal organs, particularly the kidneys and liver. These organs are after all responsible for filtering just about everything we consume, so they can easily become overwhelmed if we don’t take care of them.

While a good liver detox is a great place to start, this can be a little daunting for some people if they have never had to alter their diet or lifestyle before. Certain beneficial foods and herbs for the liver can be added relatively easily to your daily diet to gently cleanse the liver. Don’t forget adequate water consumption plays a big part too. Foods such as beetroot, not in vinegar, nettle tea, yarrow tea and green leafy herbs have a very alkaline, blood purifying effect on the body, helping the liver to do its work.

Depending on the nature of the psoriasis, there will be different foods and herbs which will play a greater or lesser role. But as a general rule, herbs such as burdock, cleavers, dandelion and yellow dock will form the basis of a cleansing liver treatment. A tea made from these herbs should be drunk three times a day to stimulate the liver, flush the kidneys and cleanse the lymph glands. Yarrow in particular not alone offsets over-acidity in the body, it also has a therapeutic effect on a nervous stomach, which is often present in psoriasis.

Obviously, avoiding or minimising your use of the aforementioned list is paramount, but the best diet in the world will only go so far if your stress levels are out of control. Each persons definition of stress is unique and individual, but you owe it to yourself to filter out what stresses you can and consciously work on changing your reaction to those you can’t. Simple tactics which cost nothing include:

Listening to uplifting music

Going for a walk or run

Feeding the birds

Doing some voluntary work

Watching a funny film

Learning a new recipe

These may sound too simplistic to have any impact on your psoriasis or your stress for that matter, but they help tilt the balance in favour of a more grounded, calm disposition.

Even in the midst of a crisis, some people have an amazingly positive outlook which just proves that, even when you can’t control the circumstance, you can always affect your own view of it. This needs to be as tangible a part of treating psoriasis as taking your herb tea or flax oil. We often seem to think that just wishing stress away will have the desired effect, but compulsive worrying is highly addictive and it takes a conscious effort to change it. If, on some level, you ‘enjoy’ worrying, just telling yourself to stop really isn’t an option. Incorporating daily feel good tactics will help, but equally, some simple cognitive techniques are useful. Try keeping note of how many times a day you worry, a simple tick in your diary will do. If you notice you’ve spent a substantial part of your day worrying about something you cannot change, then that’s as relevant a part of your life as going to work, meeting friends, cooking, sleeping and so on. Is this the best use of your time? By marking it in your diary, it becomes more tangible and easier to decide if it’s really making any difference to worry about something obsessively for three hours of your day, for example.

Is your worrying changing the outcome?

Is your worrying offering solutions or reassurance?

Does your worrying evolve? (or is it the same worry each day?)

If the answer is no, then clearly, however ‘good’ it feels to feel bad, it’s achieving nothing. Just try spending three hours on accepting instead. Not easy, is it? Because acceptance doesn’t require you to carry it around, foisting your attention on it at all times. Which suddenly frees up those three ‘worrying hours’ to do something productive. You could:

Work on your physical health and stamina

Declutter your home and workplace if its adding to your stress

Set up an instalment plan to pay off overdue bills.

These are just examples but you can decide what works for you. Suffice is to say, if your life is feeling like an itch you can’t scratch, then it’s no surprise that your psoriasis would flare up in response.

By combining these three main factors - dealing with stress, taking medicinal foods & herbs and avoiding aggravating foods, you can make a profound difference, not only to your psoriasis, but to your overall quality of life.