I guess you could say I am a spiritual person and I just don't understand why we would get this and some anorexic person doesn't get it or somebody who also eats a terrible diet. I have many friends that eat very poorly and their lips are fine. I really feel like your mind has a significant effect on this whether or not its the main cause. Personally, I didn't get this until I was paying special attention to my lips and was extremely stressed out about them because I thought I had oral herpes, but it turned out to be strep throat. That's when I started getting this, when I started looking at my lips all the time in the mirror and obsessing about every little blemish near my lips. Also, I didn't get it on my upper lip until I started checking my upper lip to see if it was also affected. At first it wasn't, then after awhile of observation and fear of getting it on my upper lip then I did. I think one of the biggest differences between us and people who don't have this is people who don't have it simply don't think about their lips ever and don't worry or obsess and check in the mirror or run their finger across their lips. Also, one time when I was pissed off about the whole situation I told myself okay, I'm going to drink this weekend (was the weekend of Cheese Fest, festival close to my house) and just let them be, I'm not going to obsess I'm just going to forget for awhile. My lips, amazingly, were fine for the 2 days i was drinking and smoking and eating what I wanted which was a first for me. They did burn a little bit and felt somewhat raw yet there was no buildup whatsoever, nothing, for 2 whole days, which is really good for me. Whenever I drink my lips seem to get better which is really weird. My tongue gets worse, but my lips seem to do better and I really think it might have to do with the mental state that I was in and the fact that I didn't think about it. The only time I thought about my lips were early in the morning and then I started drinking and I just forgot about them. It was weird. This is why I think that this condition, at least for me, has a lot to do with mentality. Did you know that there's actually certain diseases that are linked to certain personalities? Idk, I don't want anyone to get pissed for me just saying that it's all mental because I dont think its all mental just a big part of it, as my lips did do better on the candida diet and do better or worse with certain foods. Just some food for thought. I will report on if I succeed with my lucid dreaming, but it will take a while for me to get it. I've only had one once, but I woke up right away because I got too excited. Also, I think it might be a bit easier for me because from the pictures I've seen, I've got it easy and I can't imagine some of the things you guys are going through. I've already had suicidal thoughts because of this stupid thing and mine isn't half as bad as what i've seen (which just scares me more). Yet again, I've only had this for a little over a year so who knows, could get worse. I just want to stop this before it does get any worse. I know it's pretty much impossible just to forget about something as mentally debilitating as this, but just try your best not to constantly look in the mirror or worry about how your lips look at that particular moment or run your finger across your lips and it makes it a bit easier to forget. Also try and get in the mind set of it is what it is and there's nothing you can do to stop it right at that exact moment to make it better (other than peeling to make it look better). If this condition never goes away I am still thankful for the life I have been given and nothing can change that. Thankful for the years that I was happy and remember that there are worse things in this world. If this condition doesn't go away I'll do my best to manage it and live a normal life I guess.
“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
― Abraham Lincoln