Young adults mental health experiences
Three adults in their 20s, Amara, Aramide and Zainab, were interviewed to give their experiences of living with eczema.
That’s where life hacks comes in. We’ve compiled real life hacks from real people, which they use day to day to manage their AD, keeping the itching at bay and helping to interrupt the itch-scratch cycle.
“In the past, living with a visible skin difference made me feel unnecessarily self-conscious.”
Aramide
Zainab recounted how as a child, she felt the insults more deeply:
“I have been called a lot of names that have reptile connotations. At the time, it seems like a big deal when someone calls you a name. But when you’re young you can’t see ahead – you’re stuck in the moment.”
She acknowledged that the comments hurt, but wanted to remind others that with time things can and do get better, saying:
“In the grand scheme of things, you realise that your skin is such a small part of you. If [the bullies are] focussing on that then they miss all the other great things about you.”
Zainab
It’s not just bullying that can affect your mental health, but by staying calm and stepping outside the situation you can gain control of your reaction to adverse events.
Aramide’s experience of travelling alone is an excellent example of this:
“In preparation for travelling, I put all my emollients and tablets in a small box, however when I went to get them after landing, I found that the cream had spilt over the tablets, making them unusable. I immediately had a meltdown in the airport.”
“I called my mum and sobbed uncontrollably down the phone. But I soon calmed myself down and realised that I was victimising myself. I was adamant that this experience wouldn’t break me, and so it didn’t. I think mind-set is really important with these things.”
While these experiences are understandably negative, Aramide, Amara and Zainab all stressed that most eczema-related scenarios that cause anxiety and fear can be overcome.
When your body and mind are tired from the physical manifestations of eczema, it’s so important that you prioritise your mental health. More crucially still is that what works for one person may not work for someone else – so find what works for you.
“It is important to be positive about yourself, focusing on more than your looks and thinking about your personality, your hobbies, your goals and your job.”
Aramide
For some, that may be focussing on your best features.
“I think a good coping mechanism for self-esteem is writing down your best features and actually noticing them.”
Amara
