possible cure - worth reading!
Hello every1,
first of all, apologies for any language mistakes - English isn't my first language ;)
I've been a sufferrer of EC for about 6 years so far (hopefully ain't gonna be a 7th year ;)), to be honest, I haven't been on this forum for about two years now since i have tried all sorts of treatments suggested here and haven't really found my cure (that been said - I do have so much appreciation for all of you awsome people sharing your experiences and giving me and many people hope for a better future - LOVE you guys).
I feel like recently i came to understand what was causing this problem for me and what i think is helping me and i would like to share it as i think it could be helpful for many of us (fingers crossed).
As some of you may realize about themselves - my condition kicked in after a few months of severe stress. this stress was causing me to become socially withdrawled, which led to me being very depressed and insecure about myself.
while i was in this emotional state, many people have noticed and commented that my posture was droopy and my face took on this sad depressed look (eye bags,unviberant fallen face etc.).
after a few years of batteling EC and starting to accept that this condition may never go away i gathered myself and decided i will not let this stop me from having some sort of a social life and i started to attend social events an making new friends. This has had an amazing impact on my self esteem and i started feeling valued. I understood that as a person there is much more in me than the look or feel of my lips (as ennoying as it may be).
Gradually i became more active, i started enjoying taking walks down town with friends, going to vacations, i became more ambitious and started enjoying all those small things people enjoy.
At some point, since i was more emotionally relaxed (and my lips were not as bad as when i was passing my days being at home and depressed), i was starting to feel more aware of how my body reacts to emotional mindsets.
I found out, that when i am depressed, my posture automatically becomes bad - the sholders get rounded, i was not standing up correctly, my energy levels were low, digestion was not as smooth etc.
Then i decided to concentrate on what are the effects of my posture on my body.
What i reallized is as follows.
Our body, just like any other thing on this earth, needs energy in order to work - that's why we eat. once we consume this energy (food) our body is charged up with energy (calories). If we do not use this energy - it stays in our body and has to release itself somehow (just like boiling water, if you seal it - it explodes).
When you practice correct posture, the energy is being directed evenly to every part of the body, because every muscle you use consumes some of this energy.
On the other hand - if you are not sitting, standing and walking correctly (using the right muscles), in other words - if you do not hold your body correctly, and are not phisically active - this energy will find it's way out of your body through those muscels that are working, for example - your face muscles. just like if you boil water in a preassure cooker - the steam will find it's way out through the small hole in the top, but the preassure will be much higher.
I found that whenever i prectice good postue my lips start feeling better within just a few days, peeling cicles become less often and less severe and my face overall look is much healthier and viberant (also the rest of my body feels more charged with energy and i feel less tired).
It is important to look online and educate ourselves about what is the correct posture because sometimes it could be very far from what we are used to (could even feel unnatural because some muscles have weakend over the years - that's why it requires practice - but believe me, it is worth it.
immedietly when you stand up in a currect posture you can actually feel how different muscles get more active and energized and how there is less tension in your face.
I am sure that many of us will find that their posture is far from the correct one.
unlike other treatments, i have noticed that the effects of correct posture kicks in in just a few days. i am not suggesting that after one week your lips will be as good as new (niether are mine) However, within a week you will feel less tension in your lips and less aware of them along the day (which will prevent you from feeling the need to pick at them all the time). also, having a good posture will give you a more impressive and confident look (which in turn will contribute to how you feel and value yourself.
the reason why all those creams and dish soaps are not helping is simply because nothing is wrong with your skin chemistry - this is a bodily mechanical problem which will not be cured by random chemicals.
(i am aware this might not be the case for every EC patient, some have underline causes such as allergies etc. but i think the majority of EC sufferrers do relate the onset of this condition to be triggered by stress and emotional struggles).
i also strongly recommend practicing relaxing breathing, soothing chillout music and even relaxing guided meditation (you can find some on youtube).
To wrap things up, my experience of this condition led me to believe that this condition has to do with body and mind wellbeing. if your mind can have a negative effect on your body - let's try and reverse that with our body having a positive effect on our minds.
Thank you for reading, i hope this can help some people :)
Wishing you all good health and tons of happiness.
Yours,
Lipman