When My Skin No Longer Needed to Defend Me
Hello, my dear sensitive reader,
In the first part of this two-part story, I shared my long relationship with a chronic skin condition that appeared in early puberty and stayed with me for nearly twenty years. From the outside, it was labeled genetic, incurable, and manageable only through creams and sea water. From the inside, it was lived as tightness, exposure, constant adaptation, and learning how to live with constant discomfort of my already highly sensitive body.
In this part, I want to explore what didn’t fit into the medical explanation. What changed when my environment changed. What happened when my nervous system stopped being on constant alert. And why the skin, of all places, was where my body held the line for so long.
External Help, External Relief
Over time, after long struggles and uncomfortable sensations, I found treatment through water baths combined with “artificial sun.” These kinds of baths can be done through insurance (under the use of a different similar official diagnosis) once a year, you have to commute there daily, and in warm water you turn in circles. It was my happy place. It prepared my skin for summer and I didn’t peel nearly as intensely during the time when the body is more exposed. And I repeated this for several years, through my whole university period and also during two consecutive jobs. It helped, but only from the outside.
And not a single doctor who saw me even accidentally searched for the cause. Everyone stoically accepted my state, and I accepted it with them.
What Actually Helped Me
And you might be asking: what truly helped me? From the outside, I could lazily say: it came the way it came, and it left the way it left. Today, with my experiences and psychosomatic understanding, I know nothing happens “just because.” It’s a bit of a mystery and a bit of multiple causes. A life change in the form of moving, which I believe started the process and led to the gradual disappearance of this skin condition, and a holistic approach of a therapist who practiced, among other things, craniosacral biodynamics.
In psychosomatic and integrative medicine, the skin is understood as more than a physical barrier. It is the body’s largest sensory organ and develops from the same embryological layer as the nervous system. Because of this shared origin, skin and nervous system remain closely interconnected throughout life. This connection is well documented in psychodermatology, a field that studies how psychological states, stress, and nervous system regulation influence skin conditions. Stress can alter immune responses in the skin, disrupt the skin barrier, increase inflammation, and intensify sensations like itching, burning, or tightness. In turn, persistent skin symptoms can increase stress, creating a self-reinforcing loop. From a psychosomatic perspective, skin is often described as a boundary organ: it mediates contact between the inner world and the outer environment. When the nervous system is under long-term strain — emotional overload, lack of safety, chronic adaptation, or suppressed expression — the skin can become one of the places where that strain manifests physically.
In this framework, improvement does not always come showy or suddenly. It can appear gradually, alongside changes in environment, pace of life, emotional load, or the quality of support a person receives. When the nervous system no longer needs to stay on high alert, the skin may slowly regain its ability to regulate, repair, and protect without excessive signaling.
What I’m Sharing Behind the Paywall
Below is the part where I share my own conclusions and the steps, both conscious and unconscious, that helped my skin heal. The story becomes less about skin, and more about what my body was living through.
This can encourage you to understand your own body more deeply and lead towards healing.
I prepared a 20% discount for you until the end of February.
If you feel you truly need this and can’t access the paid section, message me and we’ll find a way.