Eczema substitution

Hi,

First thing is to say thanks for this amazing site. Truly, it was crucial to me tackling my RSI, which I recovered from successfully a few years ago thanks to the Sarno method and also to support on this forum.

Since I recovered from RSI I started to get other substitute symptoms like Reynauds and IBS like symptoms but I have tackled these too, accepting that they are my body trying to occupy my thoughts however it can do best. I have always suffered from mild eczema but recently it has flared up dramatically on my face which is very uncomfortable but also doesn't do wonders for your self esteem. I initially attributed it to dairy so tried to cut that out but now it also seems to flare up when I drink any kind of alcohol. The penny suddenly dropped today when I realised I had spent my whole day thinking about it and this is precisely what my mind wants me to do!

Has anyone suffered from this too? And did anyone find any particular techniques useful in tackling the issue. Any advice or comment would be gratefully received as it is difficult to know who to turn to at the moment about this, especially when some people I know are sceptical about the Sarno method ( more fool them!)

Thanks in advance

Naomi

 

Hi Naomi, I've dealt with psoriasis for YEARS. I think I'm learning that I've conditioned myself for flares. I realized that the other day when I realized I was muttering to myself the same ole blah blah story about cold weather and my skin getting worse. (And it's emotional too for me because I despise wintry weather!)

I use my cream/shampoo as little as possible and tell myself that this is TMS when I do use it. But mind you…I still use it. I wish 30 some years of conditioning would go away over night but I suspect that ain't gonna happen. I also use imagery too to imagine my skin completely healed.

Sounds like you're onto TMS's ploys so I know you're going to wrangle that pesky symptom out of existence. Just like I am!

And btw, welcome to the forum. Good to have you here!

 

You have begun to think physical again. You have to loose the focus on your body by journaling what kind of emotional pressures are you going through other than the thoughts about the body. You are obsessing on the physical when you have to step completely back to the psychological. Get out your Sarno books and go back over his 12 daily reminders ok p 82 healing back pain.

 

Thanks so much both of you for your replies. Just getting the support makes a lot of difference. I got out my Sarno book this morning and started getting feelings and pressures down on paper which was very cathartic. I also watched the Alan Gordon video and took his advice and made an "evidence sheet" to show all the reasons why this is clearly psychological (and there were many!).

I think what this has shown me is that I have to give myself space, time and permissions to say "I am finding things hard/ upsetting/ I am not feeling great" and not keep telling everyone that everything is great, when it isn't. Some of the time it is, and some of the time it is not. And that is life.

Thinking about the whole parent/ child element I need to just be with the child when it is crying, not try to stop it crying immediately just to have some peace and quiet. Being compassionate to the child and letting it cry for a bit if it needs to - not suppressing it, as that just ends up making the body try and distract me through eczema so I don't think about the crying child, and what it is actually crying about.

Thanks again to both of you, and North Star, do keep me updated with progress. The very fact that we are having these conversations shows we have made the biggest step already of rejecting the physical.

 

Fabulous insight, Nams! And yes…walking this stuff out with a friend lightens the load and cheers the journey.

 

I had eczema as a teenager and my mother heard about oatmeal soap.
She bought some for me and it cured me. I don't know if it's sold anymore but will do a google search
and give you a reply.

One of my friends' teenage son came down with a bad case of eczema shortly after the parents divorced.
The boy was stressed about that and it showed up in his face.

There are quite a few online posts about the skin benefits of oatmeal soap, such as this one:

http://voices.yahoo.com/health-benefits-using-oatmeal-soap-8136404.html

 

Great info, Walt! And yes…oatmeal soap can be purchased. It's great for poison ivy too. But for my psoriasis…meh. I have to keep thinking mindbody.

 

Thanks Walt, I appreciate the link and have had a little browse of oatmeal soap. Today, having started to think about reasons behind the flare up I am feeling a lot better and the the eczema is a little calmer. Partly due to staring to address emotional issues but I'm wondering if it's also due to the ointment I've put on it. I'm letting it calm down and then will stop using the cream - that will be the test of how calm I can remain to show my mind that I know what it is doing and am not going to react with fear.

I keep looking at my evidence sheet which clearly shows this is all in my mind - so I am following Dr Gordon's TMS recovery programme too which is very useful.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

I guess oatmeal is kind of a wonder product.
I eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning and it's supposed to lower cholesterol.
My c count is okay but want to keep it that way.

I grew up on breakfasts of oatmeal. Back in the 1930s we called it "mush."

 

Walt, oatmeal is a daily staple in my home too. Mmmmmmm!

 

I have to remember to eat my oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins.

 

My oatmeal gets changed up almost every day….it could be pecans or blueberries or cinnamon and apples or raisins, or shhhhh(don't tell anyone), sometimes a spoonful of chocolate chips.

What can I say? I live on the wild side.