Psychosomatic Causes of Skin Diseases

“You can read it all over someone’s face” is a common expression. In psychosomatics, this can be rephrased to “it’s all written on the skin.” Skin reflects both a person’s relationship with the external world and their self-perception. It acts like a sensory detector, revealing the individual’s inner experiences.

Facial Skin Insight

Skin serves as a boundary between the internal world of a person and their environment. Skin condition reveals the harmony or disharmony within oneself and with the external world. Anxiety, conflicts, self-rejection, or the desire to escape from interaction or situations manifest as skin defects. For instance, allergies can result from an intolerance towards a person, situation, or even self-aversion.

Skin reflects personal boundaries. Blurred, overly rigid, or too soft boundaries lead to feelings of vulnerability and discomfort, which is the focus of psychosomatic skin studies.

Childhood Influence on Skin Conditions

Personal boundaries form during childhood. Factors negatively impacting skin include:

• Lack of maternal love, affection, warmth, and attention;
• “Family idol” upbringing or overprotective parenting;
• Formal parenting (out of duty, not desire);
• Suppressing the child, ignoring their opinions;
• Total control;
• Negative parental examples.

Facial Skin as a Health Indicator

Skin condition indicates a person’s thoughts and emotions. Internal turmoil and irritation manifest as skin irritation. Generally, skin diseases are believed to stem from fear and anxiety. Skin defects arise when a person feels restricted, harmed, or oppressed. The skin type can provide more precise causes of diseases.

Psychosomatics of Facial Skin Types

Skin type reflects self-attitude. Descriptors for your skin apply to your character. Normal skin indicates self-confidence, balance, and self-love. You move forward boldly, unattached to the past or fearful of the future.

Dry Skin Psychosomatics

Dryness indicates hidden anger and habit of internalizing negativity. The more unexpressed negative emotions, the drier the skin.

Oily Skin Psychosomatics

Oily skin represents the opposite extreme: a tendency to vent negativity and criticize or insult others over trivial issues.

Interestingly, people with oily skin often appear younger than those with dry skin. This might be due to their unwillingness to swallow grievances or suppress anger. Learning to release emotions in a socially acceptable manner without unnecessary offense is key.

Characteristic Symptoms and Potential Consequences

Differentiating nervous itch from other skin diseases is crucial in treatment planning. Nervous skin rashes typically start on the limbs before spreading upward, with similar itch intensity during day and night.

Other characteristics of nervous skin rashes:

• Erythema;
• Swelling;
• Local hyperthermia;
• Hyperemia;
• Lethargy;
• Apathy;
• General malaise;
• Irritation and anger bursts;
• Sleep disturbances.

Nervous itching features combined symptoms: red, flaky patches and small acne-like breakouts.

If the itch is solely due to psychological stress, there’s no significant danger, but it shouldn’t be ignored. Besides causing psychological and physical discomfort, it may trigger other diseases. Constant scratching can lead to infection.

Important! Children suffer more acutely, becoming capricious, irritable, and tearful.

Psychosomatics of Skin Diseases

When identifying the psychological cause, it’s important to consider not just the skin type and the side of the body (the right side representing male energy and fatherly relationships, the left side for maternal relationships and female energy), but also the specifics of the disease or defect.

Sagging Facial Skin

Sagging facial skin is common in those dissatisfied with life, harboring many grudges against themselves, fate, or others. A state of sadness and melancholy becomes their norm.

Papillomas

Papillomas signify disillusionment due to illusory dreams and shattered hopes, leading to deep sorrow. If accompanied by pigmentation, it suggests the person is holding back emotions, appearing unfazed to others.

Nodular Thickenings on Skin

From a psychological perspective, syringomas indicate anger, indignation, resentment, sorrow, and mental disturbance. Medically, these skin nodules result from immune disorders and gastrointestinal diseases.

Inflammatory Skin Processes

Inflammation stems from internal feelings of injustice. The individual believes others are inattentive to them and fail to appreciate their achievements. Pus in inflammation shows that internal tension has peaked, with suppressed bitterness, anger, and rage trying to surface.

Acne, Pimples

Acne reflects self-rejection, anger, or the presence of enemies in one’s circle. However, other explanations exist, and the location of pimples provides clues:

• Chest: Feelings of worthlessness, love-related worries.
• Underarms: Fear of expressing affection or admitting the need for relationships.
• Back: Fear of failure, anxiety related to achieving goals.
• Buttocks: Financial stress and worries about material instability. Acne also arises from suppressed emotions, introversion, lack of support, and beliefs in one’s sexual unattractiveness.

Skin Thickening (Scleroderma)

‘Thick-skinned’ individuals, feeling threatened, desire to protect and isolate themselves from others. This often pairs with emotional coldness and restraint.

Fistulas and Sinuses

These suggest a prohibition against self-development and self-expression, fear of change, yet change is vital for personal growth.

Rash and Itch

Skin irritation symbolizes internal irritation due to exposure of personal matters, intolerance, nervous anticipation, a tendency to create problems, fears, guilt over thoughts or actions, and contradictions between desires and reality. To understand which life aspect these unmet desires relate to, consider the rash’s location and the metaphysical meaning of that body part.

Important! In children, skin eruptions indicate a lack of parental love and attention and conflicts between parents, creating a tense and anxious psychological environment for the child.

Eczema, Neurodermatitis

Eczema and neurodermatitis, inflammatory skin diseases with intense itching, occur locally or in multiple areas. Psychosomatic causes include:

• Depression;
• Anxiety;
• Chronic stress;
• Internal conflict;
• Suppressed emotions;
• Desire for isolation;
• Conflicts with others. In children, it speaks to a lack of parental love and attention, or, conversely, overprotectiveness, suppressing the child’s personality and independence.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis, a chronic condition with red, itchy patches, often whitens but maintains itchiness and flaking. The psychological roots are in difficulty with emotion recognition and expression, including alexithymia, and extreme self-rejection, including dysmorphophobia. Successful psoriasis treatment requires addressing this root cause.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo, a skin pigmentation disorder, isn’t considered a disease and doesn’t need treatment. However, it signifies self-isolation desires, possibly due to societal criticism, nonacceptance, or cruelty. Another theory suggests disrupted pigmentation reflects suppressed temperament and guilt over detachment and lack of affection for others. It can also result from injured pride, unmet recognition needs, and resentment from biased and hostile attitudes.

Furuncle

A furuncle, an inflammation of the hair follicle and surrounding tissue, indicates long-held anger and dissatisfaction, with internal turmoil surfacing as a furuncle. The longer an unresolved life situation persists, the slower the healing.

Scaling

Ichthyosis, or severe skin flaking and dryness, points to old traumas and unhealed wounds. Having suffered in the past, the person appears tough and callous but remains vulnerable and affected by past events. Healing involves relearning trust in the world and opening up to oneself and others.

Psychosomatics of Skin Diseases To distinguish nervous itch from other skin diseases, consider these features:

• Ineffectiveness of medication or only temporary relief.
• Itch intensifies under stress.

Important! Itching can be a symptom of many diseases, including infectious ones. Self-diagnosis and self-treatment are not advised.

Dermatitis – Skin Peeling, Similar to a Snake Shedding Its Skin

This results from immune system disruptions, where it starts attacking its own cells. Such immune issues often arise from chronic stress. Stress precursors include dependence on others’ opinions, fear of disapproval or criticism, inferiority complex, low self-esteem, suppressed anger, and resentment.

The primary psychological cause of dermatitis is self-doubt due to failure to accept one’s uniqueness. The individual feels so alienated that they’re ready to shed their own skin, which is what happens with dermatitis.

Types of Psychosomatic Dermatitis

Different types of dermatitis have different psychological roots:

• Seborrheic Type: Discontent with oneself, traits, abilities, or appearance. These individuals often fantasize, build illusions, and deceive themselves, leading to frequent disappointments.
• Atopic Type: Arises from intense emotional experiences and internal conflicts. In children, it often results from parental conflicts.
• Allergic Dermatitis: Causes include apprehensiveness, insecurity, subconscious associations of certain products with unpleasant events, physical or emotional pain. In children, overprotective parenting can be a cause.

Overcoming Dermatitis

Treatment should be comprehensive: medication to lessen symptoms and psychotherapy for complete healing and preventing relapses. Essential learning includes self-acceptance, goal setting and achievement, prioritizing life, expressing all emotions, forgiving oneself and others, and understanding people.

Healing requires finding internal harmony and peace with the world.

Psychosomatic Causes of Skin Diseases by Leading Psychosomatic Experts

The skin, as a sensitive system and active communication medium, reflects all emotions and states. Let’s see how famous psychosomatic experts explain this.

Louise Hay

Louise Hay believes skin protects individuality and serves as a sensory organ. Skin problems indicate worry, fear, a sense of danger, and old resentments. Healing affirmation: “I lovingly protect myself with thoughts of joy and peace. The past is forgiven and forgotten. I am free now.”

V. Zhikarentsev

The skin, as a perception organ, helps protect the internal world. Skin diseases and nervous itch can be caused by anxiety, fear, something dirty and disgusting in the subconscious, and a sense of danger. Healing affirmation: “I lovingly protect myself with thoughts of joy and peace. The past is forgiven and forgotten. Now, I am free.”

Lise Bourbeau

Lise Bourbeau views skin as reflecting self-relation and self-worth. Skin defects and diseases indicate self-shame, dependency on others’ opinions, and constant self-suppression. Pus and inflammation show the peak of self-rejection and aversion to a situation. Skin disease allows physical distance from people and reduces tactile interaction, stemming from a desire for self-change.

Vitiligo responds to relationship breakdowns, feelings of rejection, and attempts to shed skin.

Action Plan: Change self-perception and attitude. Get to know yourself, recognize strengths and weaknesses, and learn to use your qualities. Accept and love yourself. Try listing all your qualities on paper daily.

Interesting Fact! Skin cancer arises from a desire for closeness, followed by rejection and indifference, leading to shame and resentment.

Treating Itch from Nervous Causes

To cure nervous itch, addressing the psychological root cause and stress factors is crucial. It’s advisable to seek a psychotherapist’s help. A specialist will assist in identifying the cause and suggest ways to increase the overall endurance of the immune and nervous systems. In some cases, antidepressants may be prescribed to alleviate psycho-emotional tension and stabilize mood.

For itch and inflammation, doctors prescribe ointments with glucocorticoids or antihistamines, along with immunity-boosting agents.

Important! If itch accompanies other symptoms or diseases, their treatment is also necessary. Only a doctor can prescribe medications!

General Recommendations for Healing Skin Diseases

To get rid of skin diseases and nervous itch, follow these recommendations:

1. Identify the mental cause of skin problems based on scientific works and information from this article.
2. Allow yourself to express emotions but learn self-regulation. You must control your emotions and attitudes towards people and situations, maintain contact with people, and tactfully avoid unwanted interactions.
3. Release resentment and anger, and process specific situations psychologically. For physical tension relief, consider sports or shouting.
4. Forgive yourself and others, mastering forgiveness techniques like visualization or writing an unfinished letter.
5. Learn to relax: ensure proper rest, sleep, relaxation, warm baths, yoga, etc.
6. Learn to release muscle tension. Regular massage or a simple full-body exercise routine can help.

Understanding why your skin reacts to reality in this way, identifying the essence of internal or external conflict, and resolving it, is vital.

Preventative Measures

For prevention, do the following:

• Live according to your desires and needs.
• Get enough sleep.
• Take walks.
• Avoid harmful habits.
• Prevent overexertion and strain.

For stress relief, plant-based calming agents can be used. However, learning self-regulation to cope with stress is better. Drinking herbal teas and practicing breathing exercises are also beneficial.