“Each time I attended a meeting, and it went well—or at least not badly—I unlearned something, and it turned out that I was unlearning my own thoughts about myself. As it often is, I was my own worst critic,” Ashbridge says. “People still booked meetings with me with or without makeup. I built my business when my eczema was at its worst. The reality was that no one was devaluing me or what I had to say because I had dry, cracked skin on my face. The negative thoughts were all coming from within.”
5. Focus on what your body can do.
For Doris Espejo, 40, who was diagnosed with eczema five years ago, living with the condition has been especially tough with her career as a nurse.
“As nurses, we use our hands for everything, and the constant washing of hands and glove-wearing can aggravate flare-ups,” she tells SELF. “Also, if patients see them they sometimes think it’s something contagious, or will ask what it is.” The thought of making a patient feel uncomfortable or concerned about her cleanliness does a number on Espejo’s self-esteem.
Focusing on self-care so she can feel her best overall—which ultimately gives eczema less power over her—has helped a lot. “Exercising has helped me overcome those feelings by focusing on what my body can do rather than its imperfections and just accepting it,” she says.
6. Be patient with yourself.
For Kira West, 29, who was diagnosed with eczema around age 10, coping with the skin condition as a teen and young adult was tough on her self-esteem. Figuring out what her triggers were, dressing in a way that made her legs comfortable, and, more importantly, recognizing that her flares were temporary, was crucial. She learned to manage her anxiety around flares by reminding herself that they would always pass.
“That mental approach helped me to maintain my overall confidence even amidst a flare-up,” she tells SELF. “Flares are not who I am…. Managing it and just giving it time and patience honestly helped a lot.”
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In addition to her doctor emphasizing how common eczema is, as well as having supportive parents, West found peace in realizing she’s not alone. She got to this point by doing online research and engaging in online forums, which helped her feel a lot better about her situation. “As an adult, [I know] no one is going to judge my value as a person on how my skin looks,” she says. “I had to really internalize that and realize it’s true.”
7. Lean into positive self-talk.
Yuma Haidara, 33, has dealt with eczema on her face and the rest of her body since she was in high school. Haidara covered her body breakouts with clothes, but the eczema on her face was harder to hide.
“I hated it. I had so much hyperpigmentation. I kept constantly scratching these bumps on my face, and there was no way to cover it up,” she tells SELF. “Back then there weren’t even shades of foundation dark enough for my skin tone. I hated people looking at me and just knew they were thinking, What’s wrong with her face?”
Haidara, who created her own skin care products when she couldn’t find anything that worked, has found positive mantras and self-talk to be extremely effective. She keeps a list of 10 positive affirmations on the home screen of her phone, regularly changing them to keep them fresh and relative to where she is in life. Each day of the week has a different affirmation, such as “‘I accept myself unconditionally.’”
“No matter the kind of day I’m having, when the affirmation pops up, I stop and repeat it to myself until I no longer feel uncomfortable with saying that statement out loud,” Haidara says. “The words we speak to ourselves are so powerful, even when some days or weeks are harder than others to accept. But over the years, even on my worst days, [they help me to] know I’m beautiful, worthy, and deserving with all my imperfections, eczema included.”
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Source: SELF
