Ask your health care provider for help

Talk with your health care provider if you have long-lasting feelings of being sad, having no hope or worrying. A number of approaches can help, including:

• Medicines. Some antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines might work for you. Medicines that are often prescribed for mood disorders, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can affect psoriatic arthritis symptoms. Talk with your care provider about the pros and cons before starting or stopping any medicine.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of talk therapy helps you become aware of faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking. Changing these ways of thinking can lead to better ways of coping with challenges.

• Managing stress. Stress causes the immune system to increase pain and swelling, also known as inflammation. This can make psoriatic arthritis symptoms worse. Finding ways to manage stress can help you cope with psoriatic arthritis.

  Tools to help you relax include yoga and deep breathing. Eating well, exercising, and having support from friends and family also play a role in managing stress.

• Meditation. This simple practice can help reduce stress and increase calmness. It involves learning to stay in the present and accepting the thoughts and feelings that come up without judging them.

Meditation can help you think more clearly and react better to what causes you stress. When added to psoriatic arthritis treatment, meditation can reduce pain and improve your ability to cope with tough thoughts and feelings.