SKIN CONDITIONS | Mind-Body Connection Causes
Do you have a skin condition, but don’t know why? Keep reading to find out your possible mind-body connection cause(s) and start your journey to perfectly healthy skin…
I believe the body speaks the mind and have extensively researched the mind-body connection, along with the reasons why people develop chronic health conditions. Before I share the common causes of several skin conditions, including acne, athlete’s foot, dandruff, eczema, fungal infections, hives, herpes, itching, numbness, psoriasis, shingles, and warts, let’s begin with some background theory…
[If you aren’t interested in theory, then scroll down to the ‘Skin Condition Causes Summary’]
Although it can feel like our body is working against us when we have a physical condition, I’ve observed health conditions are usually the body adapting to survive our inner mental and emotional climate and perceived external environments. How might your body be adapting to your inner or outer worlds?
Highly symbolic, the body often presents physical symptoms in the areas of our body that serve particular purposes, with these functions reflecting what’s happening in our mind, emotions or life. As a result, to work out what the undercover mind-body connection cause of any health condition may be, we are more interested in the purpose and functions of the body parts, organs, systems and senses, and how the body may be mirroring something that’s been going on in our mind, emotions or life.
How might your body be mirroring your mind? Instead of getting too caught up in the labels you’ve been given to call your conditions, or immediately reaching for a lotion, potion or pill to treat your surface-level physical symptoms, here we focus more on the function of the body areas where physical issues are presenting, how the condition makes you feel, and how this is being reflected in your life. Once you get familiar with this simple yet profound (and proven!) approach, my hope is that you will gain real health empowerment - by being able to listen to, and act upon, the incredibly wise feedback from your body.
When writing my Body Calm book, I shared five directories - Body Parts, Systems, Organs, Senses and 101 Conditions - which listed the common causes of health issues. I created these based upon my understanding of the mind-body connection, combined with my observations during hundreds of one:one client sessions.
Over the years I noticed trends in the conditions my clients were presenting, along with what was going on in their psychology and/or life circumstances. Below you will find a quick summary of the common causes of skin conditions and because the skin sits within the Integumentary System and is the largest Organ in the human body, I draw from these two Body Calm directories. You will also find lists of the mind-body connection causes of the most common skin issues and what you can do next to help your body to heal and love the skin you’re in!
Skin Condition Causes Summary
The skin serves many functions, with the primary purposes being CONNECTION + PROTECTION. We use the skin to ‘reach out and connect’ with others and the world. The skin also protects the internal organs etc. and works to protects us from potential threats found in the external world.
If the skin condition comes from some kind of protection issue, then the causes often include: Feeling attacked, bullied, invaded, violated, and/or relate to some kind of ‘external threat’. In order to protect, the skin may create an ‘extra thick layer of defence’ in the form of psoriasis, for example.
Or if the skin condition stems from some kind of connection issue, then the causes often include: Separation anxiety, feeling alone or lonely, abandoned, rejected, isolated, and/or relate to some kind of ‘loss of love’. In order to reach out and reconnect', the skin can become ‘extra sensitive’ in the form of eczema, for example.
I once had a client who had eczema across the backs of their legs and we discovered during a one:one session that her dad used to carry her in a particular way in which his arm connected to the backs of her legs. For her, the eczema was her body’s attempt to reach out and reconnect with her dad. When she resolved this root cause; the reasons why she felt separated from her father, the eczema cleared up.
Beyond connection and protection, the skin is highly symbolic and often speaks our mind and emotions. For example, if you’ve been feeling anger or irritation, then the skin can reflect these emotions via a rash.
Curious about your own possible cause? Below you will find a list of specific skin conditions, which have more specific mind-body connection causes. I invite you to find your skin condition, read through the list of common causes, and see if any of them resonate with you…
POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE MOST COMMON SKIN CONDITIONS:
Acne: Negativity towards self, comparison, feeling less than, lacking self-love, unaccepted, nervousness, unworthiness, unresolved pubescent event(s), perfectionistic, controlling, anger, ‘There’s something wrong with me’
Athlete’s Foot: Taking on-board someone else’s stale thinking/ ways, anger at a perceived lack of love, feeling restricted and prevented from freely moving forward, looking outside for permission to act
Dandruff: Feeling sucked dry by pressures, people +/or responsibilities, too many things to do, overworking, people pleasing, hiding true feelings relating to how stressed you feel, suffering in silence
Eczema: Sadness-based anger, alone in the world, skin trying to find lost connection, isolated, irritated, emotionally sensitive, unsafe +/or unstable without physical contact, separation anxiety
Fungal Infections: Stale thinking, acting against your inner knowing/heart, relationship secrets that make you feel unclean, holding onto a past that no longer serves you today
Herpes: Belief of being ‘bad’, sexual shame, deserving of punishment, needing excuse to avoid intimacy, feeling used, violated or unclean
Hives: Angry and irritated with self, others +/or life, overwhelmed by feelings +/or circumstances, fear, helplessness
Itching: Anger, irritation, hot-headedness, self- punishment, shame, hiding secrets that sit below the surface, worry, angst
Numbness: Unwilling to feel feelings fully, untrusting of instincts and intuition, unresolved emotions from the past, detached from aspects of yourself
Psoriasis: Feeling bullied, unprotected, vulnerable, fear, need extra thick line of defence, unresolved near-death experience, hurt
Shingles: Highly sensitive, unable to cope and/or keep up with demands, concerns relating to circumstances, environmental fears, masculine/ feminine imbalance
Warts: Anger due to an event that made you feel scared, extra thick defence against singular event, feeling incapable, ugly
OK… What Now?
My intention is to introduce you to the possibility that your skin condition may have a mind-body connection cause. If you’ve highlighted any causes from the above lists that you can relate to, then you have just made a vital step towards discovering and healing the undercover reason(s) for your current skin condition. With the mind-body connection cause in mind, your next step is to clarify and resolve what I call the Root Cause Event. By finding peace with your past, it can ‘switch off’ your body’s need to create the condition. Here’s some questions to consider:
When you consider any of the cause(s) that resonated with you most from the above list, where in your life have you felt a similar way? (Aim to clarify the life event/experience.) When did you first notice the skin condition? (Aim to clarify a time in your life and then see what memories come to mind.) What was going on in your life around the time when the skin condition first started? (This can highlight the trigger event.) If no event comes to mind, yet, then what stressful events occurred during the 6-12 months leading up to when you first noticed the onset of your skin condition? (Sometimes there can be an incubation period, so expand the timeframe to find the possible Root Cause Event.)
Examples: Did you go through a relationship break-up? Were you feeling bullied by someone at work?
Your goal is to clarify the possible past event(s) that may have caused the mind-body connection to create the skin condition. If a memory does come to mind, then you want to do your best to find peace with whatever happened, which may require you to dig deep and be more compassionate, understanding or forgiving.
Another great first step to self-healing is to use the appropriate Attitude Affirmations (listed below). These powerful new thoughts are used to improve your mind-body connection communications…
ATTITUDE AFFIRMATIONS:
Here’s a list of Attitude Affirmations for the different skin conditions, which I invite you to get started immediately repeating in your mind during daily life, or meditation. Repeat them until they feel true. The theory is that these affirmations cultivate the attitude required, such that if you fully embodied the attitude, then the skin condition simply couldn’t exist within the new inner climate of your physical body:
Acne: I am lovingly gentle towards myself.
Athlete’s Foot: I am accepted for who I am and free to move forward with fresh ideas.
Dandruff: I am capable of meeting the demands of my day and do what’s comfortable.
Eczema: I am calm and connected.
Fungal Infections: I am fresh in my thinking and free of the past.
Herpes: I am a good person with pure intentions.
Hives: I am calm and at peace with myself, others and my environment.
Itching: I am secure within the skin I’m in.
Numbness: I am willing to feel fully and trust my instincts and intuitions.
Psoriasis: I am empowered by having balance between giving and receiving.
Shingles: I am at peace within myself and comfortable with circumstances.
Warts: I am at peace with no need to overly protect myself.
OTHER NEXT STEPS:
I offer One:One Sessions and Online Masterclasses teaching the techniques I use to ‘cure the cause’ - including the Mind Detox, Body Calm, and Calm Cure methods. If you are already working with a therapist or health practitioner, then you may wish to raise what you’ve discovered here at your next meeting and see if they can help you to resolve the root cause.
In closing, I want you to know that I’ve seen miracles occur when it comes to skin conditions healing. I appreciate skin conditions can feel ‘very physical’ and you can look in a mirror, for example, and question if you will ever return to ‘normal’. I warmly invite you to suspend any disbelief and invest some time and attention upon adopting an integrative mind-body-soul approach to your self-healing. You can do it!
