THE MENTAL/EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF ECZEMA & PSORIASIS
"...
anger, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem can all be psychological effects of eczema. Stress leads to skin disease, and having a skin disease is very stressful, so the whole cycle between stress and skin disease is perpetuating."
Dr Anthony Bewley, Consultant Dermatologist at Barts Health NHS https://eczema.org/blog/the-mind-body-connection/
We often think of skin problems like eczema and psoriasis as a blight, arrived out of the blue. A nuisance that is just an uncomfortable part of life. In fact, it seems that some people are more susceptible to skin issues than others. If you scan social media you will find many heroic individuals fighting the good fight against uncomfortable and distressing skin conditions.
The body is a remarkable living structure that has the ability to signal distress. In fact the body will always try to externalise stress, to show stress on the least important organs. As a homeopath with 35 years experience I have seen many patients with skin issues such as eczema and psoriasis and I often start treatment by reassuring my worried patient with the idea that the body's choice to externalise something on the skin is many times better than affecting the internal organs such as the joints, lungs or the heart. Your body really does have your best interests at heart!!
In my experience, eczema and psoriasis arise due to a combination of factors including one or more of the following:
- Heredity- a family history of skin or lung disease
- A diet lacking essential fatty acids (Omega 3,6 &9)
- A medical history with much use of antibiotics
- Unresolved stress such as grief, upset, anger
But as Dr Bewley states in my introduction there is a cycle linking stress and skin dis-ease.
if you have a longstanding skin disease like eczema, it’s really important that you have access to something that will address the psychological impact of having a skin disease. We developed SalvX to support skin prone to eczema, psoriasis and sensitive dryness but we recognise that long term skin conditions need a holistic approach that takes into account all of the bullet-point issues above, especially the psychological impact.
Of course your doctor may prescribe cortisone creams and these can be of enormous help in the short term but they tend not to be curative and can have side effects if used in the long term. Here are some alternative healing routes you might like to explore that are proven to help skin conditions:
- Meditation
- Hypnotherapy
- Homeopathy
- Herbal medicine
- Mindfulness
Email me, Jonathan Stallick if you would like more information about alternative approaches: Jonathan@SalvxSkin.com.