Psoriasis can affect more than just your skin. Your self-esteem and confidence can take a real battering, sometimes leading to social anxiety and depression. A young girl contacted me in desperation about her psoriasis. She had been to several medical practitioners, but nothing had worked. I was her last port of call, her last hope. She so very much wanted to wear this little strappy dress to her prom but the psoriasis on her arms and back as well as her legs made her want to cancel going or in her words, ‘be totally covered from head to toe so no one can see me.’
We had two months before the date of the prom. The plaques were red and at times could be sore an itchy. Psoriasis affects 2 – 3% of the population and can occur at any time. It often develops in childhood but can actually occur at any time. Sometimes there is a family history of the condition however this was not the case for this young girl. A trigger is required for psoriasis to develop and this can range from an illness, injury to the skin or physical and emotional stress. During our first session, it became apparent that emotional stress was indeed the trigger for this young girl. When she was 6, her parents had split and there was a lot of upheaval, leaving her feeling quite insecure. She described feeling ignored and unhappy as the arguments between the parents raged. Quite often, the subconscious will not like this situation and will take steps to change it as the prime motive for the subconscious at all times will be to keep you safe. It often appears to be the way that the subconscious may create this issue in order for the sufferer to receive the attention they perceive is lacking. By creating a medical issue, the child will be fussed over and then feel more loved and secure.
Often people with psoriasis have an awful lot of anger towards themselves and their skin. Just like this young girl, they hate their skin and feel angry and let down by their body and they have lost hope that they will get better. Part of the process for this young girl was to work with her and find ways to reprocess that time of emotional upheaval and the surrounding emotions from that time and the current time. We worked on meeting her needs for attention from her parents in more healthy ways, together with releasing the anger she felt, to help her become much calmer in her mind which in turn helped with the inflammation of the skin. By using powerful visualisations of the perfect skin and teaching her self-hypnosis, which she practised between sessions, after 6 sessions, her skin had dramatically improved and she was able to wear the dress she had loved.
I heard from her a few months later. She described how the anger towards herself had gone and by changing her internal dialogue about her skin and body image, her skin was vastly improved.