The Psychological Impact of Skin Conditions

Having a skin condition can be devastating. Unlike other conditions like diabetes or heart disease, your health problems are there on the skin for the world to see. Whether you have acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis or any other skin condition, it can be incredibly isolating and hard to manage mentally. Studies have even shown that people suffering from chronic skin illnesses often feel like they have a hard time keeping their life on track because of the stigma (1).

People who struggle with skin conditions are at a higher risk for depression, anxiety and even suicidal ideation (2, 3). In some situations, people may withdraw socially, too embarrassed for others to see their skin. They may experience anger, frustration, lack of confidence and self esteem. It may be tempting to hide yourself away from friends, family, even work during a particularly bad flare up.

 A study found that when treated for hyperhidrosis (4) that they noticed an increase in social activity and a decrease in anxiety and depression, but that may not be the case for everyone. It is possible to develop a form of post traumatic stress disorder from all of the pain and isolation that skin illnesses can cause. Although your skin may be healed, the emotional scars are still there and they’re very real.

There’s even a possibility that your high levels of stress and fear around your condition may be making it even worse. High levels of cortisol, the stress hormone can cause an increase in acne and some untreated psychiatric disorders can manifest themselves through the skin, in cases like delusional parasitosis. So, what can you do?

Hypnosis

 Medical hypnosis has been shown to help relieve stress and anxiety in people struggling to manage them (5). By placing you into a relaxed state, your hypnotherapist will begin by making positive suggestions. It’s believed to help with altering brain wave patterns and help strengthen your coping abilities.

Meditation

Meditation is an incredibly helpful tool for anybody, but especially for people who are struggling with stress and anxiety. Mindfulness meditation in particular is great because it trains your mind to focus on only the things you can control and only in that moment. It teaches you that while your brain may have all kinds of thoughts, you can choose how you react to them. You can even choose not to react to them at all. Negative thoughts aren’t bad, but they can be stressful and learning how to manage them can have a big impact on your quality of life.

Psychotherapy 

 In severe cases where you may be considering self harm, seeing a medical professional is always the best option. They will be able to work with you to find the best ways possible for you to manage the psychological effects of your condition. They may be able to suggest tools such as cognitive therapy to help you come to terms with your illness so you can get back to living your life and loving yourself, no matter what your skin looks like.

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23796817

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15196157

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20713823

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15727649

5. https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-treatments/h/hypnosis/conditions-treated.html