Can You Blame Your Parents for Your Eczema?
Apr 11, 2024While I originally wrote that headline as a joke, there is some validity to it lol. Let me explain. I see two different ways that our parents "are to blame" for our eczema. The first is from their diet, stress, and inflammation during conception and pregnancy. The second is from the way you were raised and your ability to regulate your emotions.
This article is in no way actually blaming our parents for our eczema but for raising awareness on how we might have developed it to begin with.
In and out of the womb...
Our microbiome develops in the womb and is influenced by our mother's microbiome. Don't just believe me, check out this article that goes into more depth.
The way that our mother eats can shift her microbiome which in turn shifts ours. Her microbiome can also be impacted by medications especially ones like antibiotics. My theories on how people can be born with eczema have a lot to do with this subject.
My mom and I were doing some reflecting and found a journal she kept while she was pregnant with me which she documented changes and events that occurred. We ended up finding out that she had to take a couple of rounds of antibiotics a month before I was born. When I was born I had eczema which explains a lot to me.
Maybe you can have a conversation with your mom to understand what her diet looked like when she was pregnant and any medications you or she had to take early on.
How we were raised...
When I work with clients inside of Empowered Unleashed, my 1-month intensive program, we don't just tackle eczema but emotional health as well. Most times that looks like diving into our subconscious programming and understanding why we react to stress the way we do.
My favorite example for this is imagine you are at work and a problem arises. Your coworker is cool calm and collected but you are panicking. This reaction to a stimulus isn't innate from the stimulus but your reaction to it.
Where do we learn to react like that? Most likely childhood. Whether we feel like we aren't good enough or if a parent abandoned us it's important to bring awareness to the "why" behind your reactions.
The next step I have clients take is to start reparenting themselves and detaching from the expectations they have of their actual parents. If you want to start reparenting yourself here is video to get you started!
Eczema is highly linked to stress. While research hasn't fully been able to capture this connection as well as I can observe it through client interactions, I was able to find an interesting quote. "The link between emotional stress and eczema is multi-faceted and still not fully understood. However, research highlights that stress is a significant contributor to eczema through its effects on immune response and skin barrier function, supporting the need for therapeutic strategies aimed at anxiety and stress reduction." Read more here.
Takeaways...
- Reflecting on our early childhood development could give us insights into how we developed eczema in the first place
- Our gut microbiome is a fascinating topic that can shed light on eczema development but also how we can heal from eczema as well
- Healing from childhood trauma can lessen your stress response which can reduce eczema symptoms
How you can work with Coach Michelle...
If you want to join the 1-month intensive program, realize it's for people with moderate to severe eczema who can't figure out how to heal naturally. Whether you keep cycling between healing and flaring or whether you are coming off of eczema medications and need some serious help regulating your body, this program is for you. Learn more.
