Our skin as an organ is known to be sensitive to negative emotions. The emotions themselves aren’t the problem. It’s the way we shut them out and deny them. Emotions have energy. Shut them out and they come in some other way- sometimes through the skin. They show up as acne, eczema, psoriasis, hives or whatever.
My 17-year-old client Tessa suffered from eczema that flared up every few weeks. Her skin looked scaly and dry. Dry patches of skin appeared where the itching broke through the skin on her arms. She hated the way she looked and covered herself with long sleeves and pants despite Hong Kong’s hot and humid weather. She came to me for hypnosis to stop itching.
Medical science has developed much better medication these days and hers gave her much relief but apparently, it didn’t soothe her emotional stress.
The Harvard psychologist and author Ted Grossbart*, tells us that a majority of skin diseases have an emotional component. As a hypnotherapist for skin diseases, he concludes that sufferers frequently lack self-esteem, feeling “unlovable”.
It’s not difficult to imagine that if a child carries that negative self-image into adulthood, their mind will fight it. The mind needs to resolve this dilemma because feeling loveable is a building block of self-confidence. Without a resolution, the mind takes the battle to the skin.
Hypnotherapy for eczema allows a person to challenge their uncomfortable feelings and relieve the physical symptoms of itching, dryness, and whatever else comes with them.
In hypnosis, Janet became more aware of her lack of belief in herself. The relaxation alone of being in a hypnotic state calmed her skin down. And soon, as she began to work through that inner struggle, her skin became softer, the redness disappeared and so did the itch.
“I can’t believe that I had no itching during hypnosis!”
When we face a painful self-belief, we can more easily see it for what it is – just one point of view. Hypnosis helped Tessa experience the truth about herself. She was a kind, loveable, and smart young lady and had plenty of proof of that in her life and relationships.
That old belief was like a paper tiger. It went up in smoke.
Her peace of mind returned. It felt to her like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She left my office feeling comfortable in her skin and even better, excited about who she is and who she can become.
*Ted Grossbart’s free book “Skin Free” can be found at www.grossbart.com
** the terms hypnosis and hypnotherapy are used interchangeably and mean the same thing.