Mind Power Over Eczema

It is no secret that mental health is a huge part of living with a chronically painful sensitive skin condition like eczema. That is why every time I talk about eczema on social media or in person, harnessing the power of your thoughts to enhance your mind-body connection through meditation and positive self-talk is always one of the first things that come to mind. And I find this philosophy is not only comforting but very practical and how I deal with itching and my reaction to it to minimize the amount of damage I could potentially do to my skin.

Eczema management research

When it comes to surviving eczema, I have learned that over nearly the past 30 years of having it that getting really nerdy about skin and physiology is very important. I am so grateful that I observed and learned from my father how to be a voracious bookworm and very curious about life and how it works. I've definitely inherited that quality from him and constantly use it in my eczema healing journey to successfully manage my eczema flareups.

Mind-Body Connection

Over the past 14 years of letting go of steroids and finding other ways to manage my skin, I’ve consistently come across the holistic idea and methods of the Mind-Body Connection as a way to work with the body with the mind and vice versa to achieve peace and balance. It might sound like a very New Age, foo-foo, magical idea. But as humans, we ARE magical beings. The fact that we have immune systems and are constantly naturally healing from bruises, cuts, and diseases effortlessly, just as part of living, shows the power of our innate magic. “Magic” is just as real as much as science is. Science just explains magic.

The power of free will

One of our magical powers is our ability to make choices, to have free will beyond the routine and mundane. That you don't have to continue to blindly repeat a dysfunctional cycle of scratching endlessly because you have the ability to self-observe, be objective, ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing and if it’s still worth doing, and choose a new path and action moving forward, if you want. We are covered in nerve endings and nerves cover all of our internal and external organs and the control centers of our magical powers are our brain and our heart.

Actions and natural reactions

If we think about biting into a lemon slice, our mouths salivate. If we remember what it was like the last we scratched our skin, how painful and bloody it was, we wince even if haven’t touched our skin yet. We panic. But, also when we think about loved ones and happy proud moments, we smile, and our parasympathetic nervous system activates, engaging in restorative and healing functions such as skin cell growth and recovery.

Taking control of eczema healing

Having said all this, it is because of our magical Mind-Body Connection that we always have the ability and potential every day to choose to heal and to choose to make moves towards healing. If you freak out, panic, and expect to continue on the same cycle as before, you will. You just repeat the pattern like a robot, a machine with limited programming. But we are more than machines. When embarking on your eczema healing journey, you should realize that your choices and thoughts are literally instructions that your brain gives your body that your body will carry out, whether consciously or subconsciously. So, what kind of instructions do you want to give your body today?

Ups and downs of the healing journey

I hope that reading this article inspires and activates something new in you that is looking for a new way to live with eczema that goes beyond the usual cycle that you've gone through before. Be something greater than what you were yesterday. Do something different. Learn something new about healing. And don't beat yourself up if you stumble along the way. We are humans and we can make mistakes and learn from them so that we made better longer-lasting healing choices and actions for the future. No matter what happens, up or down, please make sure that either way, you are looking and moving forward. Thank you for reading and wishing you all much healing!