Vitiligo, psoriasis & Co.: improved self-confidence for people with chronic skin conditions
The skin is the body's biggest organ, forming a visible "shell" to the outside world. If your skin becomes diseased or its appearance changes, this can trigger negative emotions such as shame or despair. This health tip sets out different ways in which people with skin conditions can top up their self-confidence.
03.07.2024 | 4 minutes reading time
Vitiligo is a pigment disorder in which irregular white patches form on the skin. The patches are caused by the death of the cells that give our skin its colour. Why this happens has not been conclusively determined, but autoimmune processes attacking the cells are thought to be the culprit. Vitiligo is neither contagious nor dangerous. Other than the fact that the white patches are particularly sensitive to sunlight, the skin does not need any special treatment or care.
Psoriasis is another skin condition whose cause is not entirely clear. Sufferers of this autoimmune disease develop too many callus-forming skin cells in certain places. This causes the skin in those areas to become thick and flaky. The disease progresses in distinct episodes. There is no cure at present, but it can be managed well with the right care.
There are many other conditions that affect the skin's appearance. Sufferers are often stigmatised as a result, which can lead to feelings of shame, social withdrawal or even mental health problems. In this interview, Lara Stäubli, a santé24 psychologist, gives some tips on how people with skin conditions can deal with their negative emotions.
What techniques or strategies have proven effective for dealing with negative emotions associated with skin conditions?
- Reading up: Knowing more about the disease you have can help you feel less powerless against it. Some tried-and-tested ways of doing this include reading guides published by dermatologists, joining patient organisations and sharing experiences with sufferers in self-help groups. The website of the patient organisation SPVG also provides valuable information on vitiligo and psoriasis (in German and French).
- Experiencing your own effectiveness: This is about sufferers realising that they can influence the disease to a certain extent themselves. Maintaining a balanced lifestyle with sufficient exercise, relaxation, targeted personal hygiene and corresponding nutrition has been found to be effective. Yoga, meditation and outdoor exercise often reduce stress levels, which can have a positive impact on our skin and our feeling of self-worth.
- Psychotherapy: If the disease impacts your mental health in the long term, psychotherapy is a good way to learn how to functionally get to grips with it. Dating, intimacy, sexuality, self-image, body image and fear of losing your job are some of the crucial issues that medical experts often don't give enough consideration to owing to ignorance or a lack of resources.
- Self-care: Self-care and the targeted reduction in stress that it brings about should also be a central component of sufferers' lives. The possibilities include a massage or bath, an enriching conversation with well-meaning people or consciously eating a diet that is good for your skin.
Generally speaking, it's about becoming an expert on your own disease and developing a repertoire of effective strategies over time that you can consistently apply.
How can the people around a sufferer help boost their wellbeing and self-confidence?
People often don't know the best way to deal with people with skin conditions. Feelings such as disgust or fear of contagion may be a factor. One of the keys is for people to feel taken seriously. So it makes sense to educate yourself and ask sufferers directly how they would like to be treated. Some like being asked about their health, while others prefer not to discuss their condition. Curious or critical looks and comments can be hurtful, and you should think about how you raise the issue. Even well-meaning comments like "It's not so bad; you can hardly see it" or "Others have it much worse" are usually not much help and make sufferers feel as though they're not being taken seriously.
If sufferers' friends, families and co-workers notice that they are becoming increasingly withdrawn, they should talk to them about it and encourage them to keep socialising and also to try doing new things to divert their attention away from their disease and towards something more pleasant. If sufferers decide to consciously change what they're eating, those around them should help them with this, even if it takes a little bit of rethinking, adjustment and openness.
What can be done to tackle the stigmatisation of people with skin conditions?
Since sufferers often hide the affected areas of their skin out of shame, only a few people are usually aware of the changes. This shame could be reduced if more informative articles were published in magazines or social media. Targeted education should also be provided in schools, because the development of a sense of self-worth plays an important role during our school years.The more education is provided, the fewer curious or hurtful looks there will be, and the fear of contagion will be reduced. Sufferers will then increasingly be able to be more open about their conditions, accept them as part of their human experience, and learn
that their worth as a person is not determined by a chronic skin condition.
