Have you ever heard of psychodermatology, It becomes clear to us from statements like ‘Skin is the reflection of the soul’ that there is a deep connection between the psyche and the color. Dr Eva Peters, psychiatrist And to what extent the president of the Arbeitskreis Psychosomatische Dermatologie explained to us.
‘When we are under stress it shows on the skin. But at the same time, the opposite is also true: If we have something on our skin, it stresses us out. There is a reciprocal relationship between the skin and the psyche.‘, experts say. People with chronic skin diseases, such as neurodermatitis, are especially aware of this interaction and often end up in a vicious cycle.
‘In patients with neurodermatitis, for example, mast cells, cells of the body’s own defense system, are overactive. Tension This is a trigger and makes these cells even more active. Effect? Inflammatory processes work at full speed, the skin becomes even worse and, in turn, favors psychological stress,
What is psychodermatology?
‘For these patients, the right cream is almost never enough. you also need to interact with them, for example in terms of psychotherapy, to reduce stress and break the vicious cycle’. That’s why skin disease should not only be treated but it should also be treated. psychological cause and effect,
it’s a field of view together Psychodermatology, Various studies have shown its importance. ‘About a third of all patients with neurodermatitis suffer from anxiety, depression or another mental illness,’ says Eva Peters.
with measures psychoeducational and psychotherapeuticThose affected learn to recognize patterns and break them over the long term.
Why is it important to take skin warning signs seriously?
Beyond chronic diseases, skin It is a good indicator of how our psyche is. ‘Often we’re on the hamster wheel and don’t even realize how high our state of tension‘, says Professor Peters. ‘The skin, the most visible and tangible organ, then gives us alarm signals.’ Suddenly, for example, you have many more black dots or five red spots on your body that you didn’t have two weeks ago.
Eva Peters’ advice: ‘Take yourself seriously! Your Skin as a Symptom Donor, Ask yourself: Where do I itch? in the strictest sense of the word. what changed? Am I sleeping a little? Am I dragging a dispute for a long time which I have not resolved yet?’. If you recognize the cause in time, you can react and avoid something worse.
