Heal Your Own Way

Heal your own way at your own pace. It is not a race to who heals first. It sounds plain and simple, but in reality, it is not. As a member of the eczema community I believe we need more unity and acceptance. I mean that many people aren't supportive of others in the way they are healing.

The push to try new healing methods

We live in a world where you need to follow the rules and not step out of the norm. When we step out of the norm, we tend to be singled out for trying something new.

From my experience, undergoing eczema and topical steroid withdrawal, other eczema community members have questioned me regarding my healing journey, which shouldn't be happening. I always thought this was not the right thing to do. Since people don't know what you have tried and haven't tried.

My mental health was impacted

First, there was a big push to do moisture withdrawal and then no moisture on the skin. Then it came to the point that people would push me to try several things at once, which in the end impacted my mental health and forced me to take time off of social media.

There was a point in time where I would always fixate on what I was told. If you use "steroids," they will help "cure" you're eczema. That is all I was ever told by my doctor, dermatologists, friends, and families. It was something that was never questioned since the doctor knows "best."

Stigma within the eczema community

In the eczema community online, it was always the same way in regards to following a certain way of healing since everyone else was doing it this way. I still see it to this day. If you don't follow all the new healing techniques, you will be called out for it.

Everyone's healing journey is different

The way I think about is that everyone is different. If we all tried the same healing methods, we wouldn't know about other methods that can help with our eczema. That is why we are all born with different ideas, shapes, and sizes. We are free to explore what we like and try things for ourselves.

I have come to understand that not everyone's journey will be the same. We all heal at different rates. Some people heal faster than others. Others tend to become set back by infections or other complications due to this condition. Some of us have more time to work on self-care while others don't have the means to provide for their skin condition.

We are all tired and frustrated

I have come to understand that what works for ME will not necessarily work for YOU. Only YOU are going to know what your body wants and can handle.

So next time you see someone in need do not push what you are doing to heal. Rather you can talk to them about it if they want to hear about your healing journey. We have to understand that we are all frustrated and tired of this illness.

Reminder: You can heal. You will heal. You are healing.