Distraction

Another technique that you can use to control anxiety due to negative thoughts
is through the use of distraction. This technique is useful when you find yourself
becoming anxious or distressed in a particular situation. If, for example, you begin
to feel anxious while on a bus because you are worried that others can see your
psoriasis lesions, then you may use distraction as a means to help divert your
attention from the anxiety-provoking thought. There are several ways that this
can be done.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Treatment 1: The people (health professionals, skin camouflage and support groups)

Professionals involved in the treatment of skin disease The parents of a new-born baby with a congenital skin condition or a person who acquires a skin disease later in life may be confronted by a wide range of health professionals. In this section we list the professionals that a skin disease patient may meet at some point during their health consultation, and briefly describe the role they play. As will be seen, the problems associated with skin conditions can be many and varied and a wide range of health professionals can be involved in the treatment process. Dermatologists These are physicians who specialise in dealing with skin conditions which require medical treatment. The conditions that dermatologists work with include acne, psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, urticaria and some skin cancers. They often prescribe conventional medical treatments such as steroid creams, tablets, lotions and sessions of ultraviolet light therapy and can give good advice to patients and parents of childre...
Read more

Remembering positive aspects about appearance

Another techniquewhich can be useful in copingwith changes in your appearance is thinking of, and listing, positive aspects of your appearance. So much emphasis may have been placed on your skin condition that it becomes all that you see when you look in the mirror. You may ignore the fact that prior to the onset of the condition you liked certain things about the way you looked. You may find yourself focusing only on the skin disease and minimising the importance of other bodily features, or indeed the importance of your body as something more than just an aesthetic object. If this is the case, you need to try and ‘look past the skin disease’ and identify what parts of your appearance you are happy with. Doing this can help remind you that you are more than your skin problem and that your appearance may be attractive in other ways. Graded exposure The fear and apprehension that a person feels about themselves and others may dominate all aspects of their life. In the same way that a pe...
Read more

Cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)was developed by Aaron Beck in the 1960s to help treat depression. Beck believed that the way people thought about their lives and the events around themwould affect the way they felt. If a person had positive or rational beliefs they would feel fine; if they had negative or irrational beliefs they would feel emotionally unhappy. The beliefs that you have about your condition can influence how you cope with it.Negative or irrational beliefs such as, ‘I have done something bad to deserve this illness’, or ‘Everything in my life is ruined now’, will inevitably make you feel low and upset. More positive beliefs on the other hand, such as, ‘The illness is only a small part of me and I will cope with it’, will make you feel more positive about your condition. Negative or irrational thoughts are often the result of ‘errors in processing’ wherebyexperiencesandinterpretationsaredistorted(Beck,1976).Such‘cognitive errors’ include: l Selective abstraction – atten...
Read more

Skin disease and the parent–child relationship

The relationship between the child and the parent may have implications for the way in which the child makes sense of and copes with his or her condition. Research suggests that one of the most significant factors in the development of behavioural problems of children with disfiguring skin conditions is the reaction of the parents to the illness or deformity.Over-protective parentswho shield their child from social problems, such as teasing, may prevent the development of childhood friendships and social skills, which are vital for later life. The birth of an infant of remarkable appearance can cause delay in how they bond with their mother and result in sadness, similar to that experienced by mothers of infants with other congenital disorders. Normal reactions of parents, which tend to occur with the birth of a child with a skin condition, are detailed below. Parents of children with skin disease should be aware of these. l Parental mourning, i.e. the denial, anger and sadness that the ...
Read more

Explaining skin disease to children

“Samantha was a happy, outgoing 6-year-old who had been born with a large port-wine stain on the left side of her face and neck. The mark did not seem to bother Samantha. She and her mother referred to it as her ‘strawberry stamp’, and joked about how it was proof that she loved strawberry ice-cream. When she was around other children, they would ask her questions about it and she seemed comfortable talking about it and consequently did not appear to have difficulties engaging with other children. As the time approached when she would be starting school, her mother, Janice, began to feel concerned about how other children in the class would react to her. She decided to speak to a teacher at the school who suggested that it might be a good idea if Samantha could talk to them about her birthmark. She suggested that through this any erroneous ideas that the other children had about Samantha could be dispelled and she could take control of the situation by offering explanations that she fel...
Read more

Skin-Care Basics 2

Image
The importance of skin care cannot be underestimated. Did you know, for example, that the skin is the largest organ of the human body? Mostly we take our skin very much for granted and don't spend much time thinking about the skin’s functions and their importance, until some problem occurs or we injure ourselves.The following article provides some insight into why good skin care is important and suggests a simple skin care regime anyone can follow to help your skin perform at its best. In addition, it discusses some lifestyle factors which will improve your skin if followed. It's not rocket science, really it is just common sense. HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT TIPS FREE FOR YOU 1.Precious drops of olive or almond oil added to your bath water enhances a creamy, shiny and smooth skin. 2.To prepare a rich oil bath, blend together a quarter cup of olive oil, one tablespoon shampoo, one cup vegetable oil and one tablespoon lemon juice. Use one or two tablesp...
Read more

Treatment 2: Psychology and skin disease

In this chapter we hope to provide an understanding of the central issues involved in counselling. We will outline our definition of wha counselling is and the potential benefits of counselling to dermatology patients. We also discuss some of the most commonly used and effective techniques in counselling people with skin disease.
Read more

How do other children treat those with visible skin conditions?

Children’s attitudes and behaviour towards facially different people can range from curiosity to abuse.Many children do not understand skin disease and disfigurement in the sameway that adults do; they often behave inappropriately to thosewith the skin disease. Children are not socialised to the same extent as adults and so their treatment of children with skin disease can be much worse than adults’, although much of their behaviour arises from curiosity as opposed tomalice. Some research has been carried out to examine the effectiveness of various educational strategies for changing children’s attitudes to people who look different from themselves. It was noted that when children were given a 5-hour plan of activities that aimed to allow them to be put in the position of disadvantaged children, significant positive changes in the children’s attitudes were found. Educating children to understand difference should be emphasised in the classroom setting as well as at home. Helping children...
Read more

Children’s sleep problems: What can I do?

Many parents may assume that disrupted sleep is inevitable and that there is nothing that can be done about it; but parents must be reassured that sleep disruption is preventable and aworthwhile goal on account of all the consequences of insufficient sleep. Parents themselves need adequate time for sleep and rest at night and so should realise that they need to look after themselves as well as their child as there can be a tendency to concentrate so much on their child’s problems that they don’t adequately take care of themselves. Parents have to realise that when they start to undertake the above changes, there will be a temporary increase in stress as they introduce a more consistent night-time structure. But this will be seen to be worth it as a decrease in stress and an increase in normal sleep start to occur. Compliance Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne and vitiligo often require treatment and medication to improve the condition. Medical compliance (how well patients ...
Read more