Eczema: Reaching the other side of the road where the grass is greener…My healing reflections

Posted by Selina on May 13, 2016 · 5 Comments 

When you have eczema all you do is wish you could have normal skin, wish that you could be anybody else who didn’t have to deal with this. Wish that you will wake up one day and it will just finally leave you alone.  I remember at first how reliant I was on what the doctor gave me, what he thought and of course I was even more reliant on the steroids. I just wanted it to disappear. I didn’t understand it, I just wanted it to go so I could be “normal”.

“Why me?” I thought over and over. “What have I done to deserve this?”. I felt helpless I really did. I went to my dermatologist dying to find something that would work, but each time it was the same: steroids and greasy emollients. I felt helpless but at the same time I was relying on somebody else to fix it, to make it go away.

When I was at university, I gave up with relying on medical care. Not because it wasn’t some form of management because it did offer me bouts of relief. I gave it up because it wasn’t the management for me. I didn’t want to mask symptoms that were so severe that the minute I stopped using steroids they would return OVER and OVER. This to me was my body screaming out to me that something was wrong. How could I live like this forever? Flare up – steroids – flare up. It was becoming a nightmare and my body was scarring.

It took me some time to really take control of my skin and listen to my body. It was hard. I mean I didn’t want eczema so why should I have to deal with it? I sank into a pit of self wallow for quite some time. I was angry at the world, at God, at my doctor. I was angry at everyone who had normal skin they took for granted. But one day I just hit a light bulb moment where I realised that hating everything and living with eczema could just not be my future. I couldn’t live like that forever – what sort of life would I have. I am more than my eczema but at that time I was consumed by it. I let it dictate my social life, my clothes, how comfortable I felt. It truly dictated my life! But when I woke up crying at my own reflection over and over, something inside me clicked and I was determined to get my face back! It had been a long time since I recognised myself in the mirror. At this time, my face was purple and red constantly and I couldn’t just let this be this way for my whole life. This is when I began blogging. I had read other blogs and gained a lot of motivation and willpower from reading through others struggles. I didn’t feel so alone and documenting my journey meant if someone else was like me – going through this ordeal -then maybe we could do it together. 

My next step was trial and error, a lot of trial and error. Coconut oil, yoghurt, Shea butter, aloe butter, hemp, oils for cleansing, salt baths, prebiotics, wheatgrass, Supplements, gluten free, reduced sugar…..the list goes on ! Did everything work? No. But I really began to tune in to my body, learned to work with it and really began to generated what it liked and what it didn’t. Even though my eczema flared at times, I felt more in control. I was doing research, trying to understand it. I had the opportunity to try things to see if they worked. If not, onto the next. If they did then I began to understand more why that product would work over others and began to find my skincare necessities. All in all, trial and error has helped me to just be in tune with my skin, steroids covered up the reaction. The natural path involves figuring out what your body needs. Trust me, it isn’t always easy. Sometimes you just can’t understand where the eczema came from but persist and you wil, figure it out! Being in harmony with your body is an amazing feeling and knowing you are healing your whole body is great. Over the years I have figured out what works for me. I have figured out what soothes dry skin, what weeping eczema needs and how much stress can affect my skin, what I can use on my face, what make up to use and so on.

Along this journey I have learnt many a thing. Most importantly I have learnt that skin healing requires an Holistic approach. One where you really think about your mind and body. Without that determined mindset, I can imagine I would still be in the wallows of self pity, feeling sorry for myself, but the question is what would that achieve? It isn’t going to me towards my goals so what’s the point?
It took some time but look at me now it’s worth it. 

So I guess my question to you is are you taking control or are you letting your skin take control of your life? How are you taking control?

The reason I created the beauty box is because it’s not always easy doing trial and error especially when it involves hours of research for what could work before trying it. The box helps to break it down for you with some of my go to products over the years and open your mind to great ways to heal the mind, body and soul. This way you’ll find what works for you more easily and you’ll be able to look back at your journey as I have now with pride 🙂

It can be done, the real question is are you ready to manage your eczema?

Filed under Beauty, Emotional Side of Eczema, Facial Eczema, goals, healthy living, My Eczema Journal/ Updates, Positive, Restore and Repair Skin, Tips · Tagged with eczema, positive, reflections, take control