Maintaining Confidence With Psoriasis
Confidence is an amazing trait to possess. People with confidence believe in themselves and their abilities. They are generally happier and more optimistic than the general population. Confident people always seem to be at the center of the excitement, while you are on the outside looking in.
Psoriasis holds you back. You, like many others, may think that psoriasis and self confidence are mutually exclusive and you cannot have both. But this is a fallacy. If your confidence is low, depression and self-doubt begin to take hold. They work to convince you that your psoriasis is too great of an obstacle to overcome. No matter the severity of your psoriasis, you can be confident. Follow the tips below to find the best in yourself.
Confidence Boosters
- Accept your condition – Feelings of denial, sadness and anger stand in the way of acceptance. Without acceptance you cannot have confidence. People with psoriasis often avoid mirrors and their self-image becomes more negatively distorted. Standing in front of a mirror is a good intervention to desensitize yourself to how you really look. Having accurate perceptions reduces denial and creates progress towards acceptance. Understand your body and the patterns of your psoriasis.
- Separate yourself – Now that you have found acceptance, acknowledge that psoriasis does not define you. If you had diabetes, would you be “the diabetes guy"? No. Psoriasis is not you. You are a fully functioning person that is infinitely dimensional. You are more than your diagnosis. Your diagnosis does impact your life, but so does your hair color or your style of clothes.
- Compliment yourself – If you have been spending too much time and energy inspecting the negatives about yourself, shift gears. Focusing on unchangeable negatives are sure ways to decrease your self-esteem and worsen your mood. What do you like about yourself? Do you like your eyes? The way you can wiggle your ears? Find what you excel at and what makes you a good friend. Even if you struggle to list characteristics, look deeper. Everyone has personality characteristics that make them interesting and unique.
- Surround yourself with positives – Too often, people subject themselves to poor relationships and poor experiences because they believe they can’t do any better. Do not fall into this trap. Being around positive people and having positive experiences will give huge assistance to your confidence. Be active in making plans and starting new relationships. Part of increasing positives is reducing negatives. If people or situations in your life leave you feeling worse, instead of better, look to modify. Not every situation will be changeable, but you can likely improve your experience with limited work.
- Walk the walk – The ideas above discuss you thinking differently or changing your surroundings. This tip is about changing your behavior. People with higher confidence and self-esteem typically present in certain ways. They walk with a steady gate, good posture, head held high while making solid eye contact and they speak with assertive communication. Certainly this is a product of confidence, but there is evidence to support the idea that carrying yourself in this way will actually improve confidence. Therapists call this ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. Study confident people to learn their mannerisms and test them out. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Conclusion
Even if you think confidence is not for you, reconsider. Improving self-esteem and confidence is a worthwhile challenge because when confidence increases, many other aspects follow. If you talk the talk and walk the walk, a new, confident you is sure to emerge.