Since my diagnosis almost three months ago, it has been a challenge trying to find the silver lining in my situation of having a chronic condition – in this case, rosacea. However, being almost three months into therapy as well, and feeling my body begin to heal and balance back out, I now have the time and energy to consider the light within the darkness.
Here are five distinct benefits I’ve personally noticed from having and living with rosacea:
1. There is now a very clear line of communication between me and my body.
I no longer have to wonder if my body approves or disapproves of something or if it is helped or harmed by a food I ingest or a topical I apply. My tendency to flush and speckle means that I know almost immediately if something is good for me or not a match, causing inflammation and damage.
2. I have experienced an increase in my health consciousness.
Before rosacea, I thought I was fairly healthy and doing all the right things…until consistent flare-ups that had been slowly and almost silently building over time taught me otherwise. I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew about standard nutrition and re-learn what it truly meant to be healthy, balanced and happy within my own body. My rosacea taught me to dig deeper, to care more and to listen better. The reward in all this is better overall health and well-being.
3. I have cultivated deeper empathy.
This empathy is for my own self and for others. I care about the struggling of others and the reasons behind it in ways I never would’ve been able to do before.
4. There is now a greater sense of humility within me.
There was no way around this one. When your face (the one aspect of yourself that you absolutely cannot hide from the rest of the world) is red, swollen and feels like it’s on fire and is accompanied by a rash of tiny, nasty bumps for days on end, it is impossible not to become humbled in a manner that defies description. I no longer think I’m above anything or invincible in any way. And I no longer make assumptions about others and why they do the things they do or appear as they appear.
5. There’s no blush needed.
Rosacea forced me to give up cosmetics altogether. Nothing but the purest and gentlest of toiletries are allowed, and even those are kept to a strict minimum. I have to face myself, literally, as I am…no make-up, no societal mask, with imperfections on display for all to see. And you know what? That’s fine by me. The folks that love and accept me now love and accept me for who and what I am in the present moment. And rosacea always makes sure I have all the blush I could ever want or need, springing forth from the inside.
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Thinkstock photo via aluciana.
Greetings! I love Anthropology, Folklore, Writing/Editing, Creative Projects… and my cats!
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