Eczema "Inside Out"...Sadness Before Joy

Sadness comes before joy. For anyone who hasn't seen the animated movie "Inside Out," beware of any spoiler alerts. I strongly suggest stopping what you're doing and watch it! I just saw it a week ago as a suggestion from my sister. I was not prepared for the emotional impact it would have on me (granted, I often cry when watching animated movies due to nostalgia) or the emotional intelligence it displayed.

Eczema gets in our heads

Let's face it, we eczema folks are always in our heads! We always think that our flare-ups are way more noticeable or disgusting than they actually are at times. We always think someone is staring or simply standing waiting only to notice you and your imperfections in a world full of imperfect people.  To add to our already hyperactive existence, we mostly all have some sort of embarrassing moment that came from our eczema, or maybe we are just bad with our emotions or more prone to shyness because of this condition. Well, all of the maybes and hypothetical situations are all my truths. If I allow it, I am a built-up ball of emotions, and my sister-in-law, who has only known me since my early 20s, suggested this movie to me because it reminded her of me. I guess she knows me more than I thought she did.

There's no joy without sadness

Now that is out of the way. Connecting the movie back to me and the character that portrayed 'Joy' in the main character's mind later realized that there were never any extreme causes of joy without feeling great sadness. Similar to the saying, "there's no sunshine without rain," this is the case with us emotionally and is when the awareness of emotional intelligence becomes necessary.

The tipping point of the "Inside Out" movie

A very triggering tipping point caused the main character to fully destroy her memories of happiness and go into a deep state of depression, which surfaced as indifference and the inability to find joy in the things she once loved. The movie portrays this happening with great animation effects, and the characters that represented joy and sadness were both lost with no ability to help her function correctly. 'Joy' was so eager to keep everything happy and moving as they always have and gave no attention to 'Sadness' that she failed to realize that sadness was the emotion needed to spark feeling back into the main character's life.

How does this relate to TSW?

Topical steroid withdrawal was my portal of sadness that had to come first before experiencing the full joy of living in my body freely and joyfully. Many nights of sadness from this debilitating disease, along with severe eczema, took me to a darkness so deep that the only thing left to do was to find the light. Once that light began to shine a day to a week later, similar to the healing pattern of my flare-ups, it shined brighter than it ever did before. I not only experienced skin clearer than I ever did but, I also felt a weight of emotion and pain slip away with each layer of skin and tear shed. I was finding my joy again through the sadness.

Taking care from the inside out

This movie is called "Inside Out" because it connects to emotions and how they're portrayed on the outside. It is so important to take care of our bodies and minds from the inside out. If you take the time to go through the turbulence and endless motions of healing mentally and physically, our bodies and skin will thank us with a glow. Never neglect the low periods of healing; it is the only way to the other side of joy from the inside out.