When you feel like you’ve tried EVERYTHING to stop skin rashes, it can be so frustrating that you want to throw in the towel. The idea of having hope that you can somehow solve this puzzle get dim. And before you know it, you don’t want to hear anything that could possibly help your eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, dandruff, etc. I hope you enjoy this episode. It’s different than the rest, but something I wanted to address because there can be dark places that skin rashes can take you emotionally. My hope is that you’ll begin to let the light crack on in through the armor you wear to protect yourself from any more disappointments. I know how hard this can be, so please… give this episode a listen and then share your throughts below! In this episode: Feeling like you’ve done everything right, but you haven’t seen results Emotional and mental burnout that leads to you losing hope Jennifer’s “dark place” after so many failed attempts Toxic vulnerability triggered by skin rashes How to begin stepping out of the negative mindset that only sees failure ahead QUOTES: Suffering from my eczema was a dark place to be - walking through life with what has become a really big chip on my shoulder about pretty much anything that had to do with my skin. I THOUGHT that this intense skepticism, weariness, and bitterness was a way to control what I was exposed to and what I’d let in. But it truly wasn’t. I spent so much time “protecting myself” from anything that offered a shred of hope, that I couldn’t feel hope anymore. I started building this wall between myself and anyone who made any sort of suggestions or recommendations. Thinking the whole time that “you don’t understand my suffering. I’m going to protect myself from any attempt at hope because I can’t take any more failure. I’m not going to be vulnerable anymore.” And when you take a 2000ft view, skin rashes make us both physically as well as emotionally vulnerable. FULL TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to episode #45 of the Healthy Skin Show! In today's episode, I’m talking about what I call “Health Quest Burnout”. Here’s what I mean… You’ve gone to doctor after doctor trying to get help with your skin and other symptoms and conditions. You’ve spent countless hours online searching Dr. Google and jumping in and out of rabbit holes desperately seeking missing clues. You’ve tried creams, salves, supplements, medications, lifestyle changes, and all sorts of homemade remedies… Hoping that *something* will work. It’s not uncommon that after a certain point, you can feel like the skin rashes start to break you. They take over and wreck your carefully made plans (or even the most mundane experiences like showering). Bit by bit, they chip away until you don’t recognize your life (or your skin) anymore. You lose control over your life as so much of your time and energy goes into dealing with your skin. And you can get to a point where you think, “I’ve tried everything. I’m doomed.” It’s a dark place… and I know because I was there once. Struggles Only Someone Living With Skin Rashes Understands Many of you know my eczema story. I become horrified watching eczema take so much away from me! Working out, teaching cooking classes, volunteering with a cat rescue, touching pretty much anything, opening door knobs (or lids), taking showers, washing my face daily… I felt horribly embarrassed to be social and meet new people because the first thing you do is shake hands. No one wants to shake a hand that looks like it’s diseased. Even though I was able to eventually get my skin turned around (through a lot of hard work), I was left in the process with lots of products and concoctions that didn’t help. I was cleaning out my “product” drawer the other day, and still couldn’t throw out all of the tubs and jars of products I bought that didn’t help. It’s silly, I know… But I spent so much money on them. One day, I’ll let them go. For now, I keep them even though I’ll likely never use any of them again. In the process of