This story begins during the summer of my fourth grade. With my mother we will take an organized sailing trip around the Aeolian Islands in Sicily.
It was from these holidays that the condition of my skin changed.. I had never had skin problems before.
The day my skin problems started
The Aeolian Islands are of volcanic origin and known for their beneficial effects on the skin.
However, they are also known for their heat, and after a few days of travel, I discovered that spots appeared on my body in the folds: neck, breasts, elbows or even buttocks…
Panic!
With my mother we leave a few days later for a pharmacy, knowing that we are in Italy and that neither my mother nor I speak Italian.
Let’s try to explain as best we can my problem, which is that we don’t have enough to take a shower (yes, we didn’t have a 300 m² cabin).
We eventually managed to gather some washing supplies and had access to a shower.
Back in France, we made an appointment with my dermatologist who concluded this It’s a reaction to heat.nothing serious and he prescribed me cleansing products and medications.
The stress of the patent test
Time passes and I find myself in the third year of the patent. I’m starting to feel anxious a few months before the aforementioned ordeal, except my skin is reacting like I’ve never seen it before.
Spots appeared on the ears and scalp. She told me:
“No, it’s not okay!” We’ve never done this! »
I go to my dermatologist and she concludes that this is the case psoriasis, a genetic disease which manifests itself during stress and anxiety and which can be positioned wherever it wants: feet, ears, back or worse, face.
I discovered that toothere is no miracle method to get rid of them. It’s not like a cough or a stomach ache, I’ll have it my whole life, it’ll always be there.
So this year I spend it with shampoos, medications, special appointments…
Dermatologist Juliette M. explains what psoriasis is:
“Psoriasis is a skin disease that involves inflammation and dead skin. There may be complications, such as joint damage.
It is due to a genetic abnormality and environmental factors. Stress (whatever the type) can actually trigger it and make it worse.
We cannot “cure” a genetic disease, but we can make the symptoms disappear with treatments (creams, tablets or injections), a modification of environmental factors (suppression of alcohol, tobacco, etc.) and stress management if necessary.
Sweating aggravates the scratching caused by inflammation, which in turn maintains or worsens the lesions.
On the other hand, the sun (outside of the hottest hours and avoiding sunburn) improves the conditions of most patients.
Stress aggravates many diseases, including skin diseases. Among the latter we can also mention eczema. »
The second, the high school diploma and trust at minimum levels
I’ve always been a good student, I didn’t get 20/20 on every question, but I averaged a 14 which held up.
But when I get to second grade, I realize that no matter how hard I work, my marks do not exceed 10.
Then I stress over every one of my tests, for fear that my reviews have been of no use, for fear of panicking and not knowing how to do anything.
My psoriasis is back and I can tell you that the stares from others and the questions are coming:
“What’s that thing in your ears?” Is it contagious? Does he hurt you? But how do you live with it? »
I told myself that this “skin disease” was a flaw for me. It is also with these questions that my complex was forged.
I felt rejected by some of my classmates, and since I wasn’t one of the most popular in school, that didn’t help.
After a second full of twists and turns, I found myself in my senior year at ES with my high school diploma in my sights. The panic returns, and so do the rashes.
I still find myself with plaques but they are no longer in the same place. My scalp and ears are hardly affected anymore.
However, I am starting to get some red patches on my back and on the crooks of my elbows and knees.
They itch but don’t look the same as the psoriasis I had. I use alcohol-free soaps, suitable for sensitive skin, but nothing helps.
Finally this dermatological invasion passes and I find myself on holiday with my high school diploma in my pocket.
Back pain and itching during the first year after high school graduation
After high school I was accepted into a private communication and design school and for two years my body still had spots, but they didn’t itch.
They don’t necessarily hurt, they are present, every now and then they itch a little, but above all they invade my upper back.
When I’m stressed, my back itches and I’m starting to hate it with its red, dripping spots, which sometimes disgust me.
So much so that it has become a relief for me to scratch, as if to soothe the pain of anxiety.
When I look in the mirror, I feel like someone hit me, like I am a victim of my own violence, of that of my anxieties.
In these two years I haven’t had any major breakouts, the plaques come and go depending on my mood and even the weather (the heat and sweating make them multiply).
My skin doesn’t want to leave Paris anymore
During my second year I went to Paris for 2 months for an internship. I was living alone for the first time, I had met some wonderful people and I didn’t want to leave.
But I had to decide to return to my life as a student at Touraine.
With a week to go I don’t feel well, I don’t want to leave this city where I learned to live freely and without restrictions. During this internship I understood a feeling I had always looked for: independence.
I start to have a sore throat (mid July) and my skin reacts, as always.
Small yellow and white spots appear on the arms and neck. My psoriasis returned on my scalp and ears.
I feel terrible, I don’t understand what’s happening, I feel helpless in the face of my body telling me to stay in Paris. I go to the pharmacy and ask for something to calm the stress, telling myself that it’s nothing and that this rash will pass.
At the weekend I meet my mother to help me move, she finds me in this state and drags me to the pharmacy to find some products that can calm me down.
Back in Tours, I made an emergency appointment with my dermatologist who told me that it was, among other things, impetigo : An epidemic of superficial skin infections that can occur as a result of several factors, including eczema.
A little clarification from Dr. Juliette M. on impetigo:
“ Impetigo is a bacterial skin infection.
It has no link with stress (except that it can aggravate eczema, which in turn can become infected: we are therefore talking about impetiginization rather than impetigo (which occurs without underlying skin disease).
Impetigo is usually treated with antiseptics and antibiotic creams or tablets. »
For several weeks I felt depressed and unable to do the slightest thing. I feel useless. After a few weeks I get back on my feet and the plaques disappear.
My stress, my skin problems and my relationship with my body
Today, I no longer have the courage to fight against my anxiety and my skin doing what it wants. I don’t want my life to be filled with drugs and antidepressants.
I’m not just someone with skin problems and anxiety issues : I am a person who lives, who likes to live, go out.
My relationship with my body is always a little complicated, there are days when I don’t like it very much and others when I feel like a real star.
And then when I experience particularly stressful events I feel more vulnerable and so does my skin, and I always have difficulty showing my back with clothes for fear of comments.
I know I’ll have to live with this my whole life, but it was important for me to talk about it, because I know I’m not the only one!
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
