A common inflammatory condition, eczema can go from a minor inconvenience to a totally life-disruption pain. Most common in Black people, this skin disease can cause life-long symptoms, everything from annoying itching to redness, crusting, oozing, and even strange, scaly patches.
Usually appearing in younger people, the condition does not discriminate. It can also flare up out of nowhere when you’re much older, presenting its lovely little symptoms out of the blue. In dark skin, eczema usually presents as gray, purplish, and brown areas. In Black folks, it’s more likely to affect the arms and legs, and also more likely to cause dark circles beneath the eyes.
RELATED: Your Eczema Isn’t Just Dry Skin: What Every Black Person Needs to Know!
What Causes Eczema Flare-Ups?
Eczema triggers can vary far and wide. According to the National Eczema Association, the core cause of eczema is an overactive immune system. This then leads to reactions to the environment that wouldn’t normally happen in a more tempered immune system.
Research also shows that eczema may be caused by mutations in a critical protein-producing gene. Because of this mutation, our body lacks a strong skin barrier, thereby allowing bacteria and other nasties to penetrate.
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Environmental allergies and even food allergies can all trigger eczema flare-ups. Whether it’s pet dander, peanuts, cockroaches, pollen, or certain ingredients in chemicals you’re allergic to, they can all play a role in your eczema. Having dry skin can make these all even worse.
In other words, the main triggers of eczema are usually a lack of moisture and exposure to irritants. As you can imagine, irritants vary widely between people, being anything from hand soaps to body washes, shampoos, detergents, fragrances, cleaners, disinfectants, allergens, and more!
But it doesn’t end there.
While you may commonly think of eczema triggers as physical things in your environment, did you know your mind can trigger eczema as well?
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Understanding the Brain-Skin Connection
If this sounds like a buncha crazy talk or pseudoscience, think again. Emotional stress, negative thoughts, and simply feeling ‘down’ have all been linked to symptom flare-ups in eczema. The reason your psychological state may affect your eczema is because of ‘the brain-skin’ connection.
Simply put, this connection has to do with how your mind affects your body. See, stress is just as physical as it is emotional. It’s why people talk about feeling ‘blue’ or ‘heavy-hearted,’ why they may feel ‘down’ or have a ‘pit in their stomach.’ When we deal with strong emotions, our body reacts.
Well, the same goes for your skin. Emotional stressors often cause inflammation in the body – and what is eczema? An inflammatory condition! Then what happens? Well, if the inflammation persists, you may have flare-ups, and from these flare-ups, your mental state may get even worse.
You get anxious from itching and discomfort, your poor mood gets poorer, and the condition intensifies further. It’s like a vicious circle. Research shows that people with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be especially vulnerable to emotion-induced eczema.
Getting Your Mind Right
Rather than be overcome with stress hormones, struggle with eczema, and then feel even worse – learn to control it! It’s not as difficult as you may think. First, know your symptoms. Is your eczema causing mental distress? Is mental distress causing your eczema? Is it both?
Note if you have the following:
- Feelings of sadness or emptiness
- Anxiety, panic, or paranoia
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Lack of interest in things you once liked
- Inability to sleep or relax
- Suicidal thoughts or feelings
- Chronic fatigue or lack of energy
- Notable changes in weight/appearance
If these sound like you, you’ve got help.
Consider connecting to eczema support groups online through Facebook, Twitter, or The National Eczema Association website. Reduce your sugar and processed foods to improve your mood and brain chemistry. If you struggle to sleep, consider an antihistamine at bedtime to make you feel drowsy.
Mindfulness, hypnotherapy, and meditation are also useful. Whether you seek a trained hypnotist or therapist or engage in a little self-therapy is up to you. Whatever you do, don’t be shy to ask for help!
One way to relax and prevent emotional flare-ups is by practicing deep breathing or breathwork. You can listen to calming music and natural sounds through a meditation app. You can even follow along with yoga and tai-chi videos on YouTube, or enroll in classes.
Sometimes, the best thing is the easiest. Get your mind off that negativity by going on a nice stroll in the woods, or engaging in a creative outlet. Some eczema sufferers swear by painting, baking, writing, crocheting, and even games and puzzles.
Ultimately, this is your journey. And with a little help to guide you along, you can finally put eczema in its place!
