In my late thirties, friends and family began commenting on how easily I blushed during embarrassing moments.  Their amusement grew to curiosity and then concern over time as my blushing grew more frequent and intense.  I felt my face get hot and itchy when I blushed, and literally hated when these moments were captured in photos.  Doctors diagnosed my rosacea and prescribed a cream that did not help.  Advice to avoid spicy foods, heat and humidity were ridiculous to a Gulf Coast Texas professional outdoor event organizer and enthusiast!  Most soaps and lotions now burned and I was testing and then discarding hundreds of dollars worth of those as well as products claiming to help the condition.  My only relief came through sparse use of natural oils.  I suffered in shame as the condition worsened for several years (as evidenced by this photo of a friend joking around with me as caught on camera).

Imagine my delight when my chronic rosacea disappeared months after my divorce!  I wondered at the correlation until adopting a more holistic spiritual life years later led me to explore how underlying emotions trigger all sorts of physical symptoms, pain, illness, and disease.  Was my rosacea caused by dietary and environmental triggers or my growing sense of frustration, helplessness, anger, and sadness burning to be expressed?  I believe it was the “whole-istic” blending of all of those things that put me “over the top” creating my bright red complexion.

Ten years have passed and my face occasionally gets red when I overdo exercise or overheat outdoors.  In this photo, I am on the beach in summertime and my skin has an even tone.  This is my normal appearance, now.   I understand now that I redden when I am suppressing my truth, compromising myself too far or for too long just to maintain harmony in relationships and situations…basically the point when compromise turns into sacrificing my truth for another.  I now embrace my facial outbursts as signs from my heart that I have slipped out of alignment with myself.   Between my Libra passion for harmony and some excellent childhood training in codependency, I don’t always notice I’m doing that until physical triggers remind me.  What a gift!

Do you suffer from rosacea?  I remember how my body felt like a cruel prison that was turning against me and I was masked by shameful redness.   I know the sadness, frustration, anger, and embarrassment!   Please comment below anything you’d like to ask or share concerning this journey or contact me directly.  Our bodies are in service to us.  If your body is speaking to you through rosacea, what might your rosacea be trying to tell you?

Namaste and much love and Light to you on your authentic journey,
Sheryl Sitts, MPA, BA, Holistic Spiritual Coach, Practitioner, & Community Builder
Founder, Journey of Possibilities featuring live events, weekly shows, and a quarterly digital magazine