How do you all cope?

[grissom]

I have to just make do with my condition. I'm more concerned on how it affects my mentality. After all this is most important as it makes me a person. Luckily I have found a friend through this forum (appletree) and by talking to him I have found someone to share my misfortunes with. And by having someone who understands the condition through their own first hand experience is the best thing you can get. I've given up attempting to tell my parents. It's best to keep it to myself. I hide my sweating all the time and have not mentioned it to my friends or family. I have relied on baggy clothing all the time.

Anyway sorry for the rant but I just wanted to know how you're all doing? I've stopped being suicidal etc cos it's not really me. I'm too deep and conscious about life to anything like that. I want to find out more about the world and I intend to stay in it. It's hard to cope sometimes but I'm sure I and you all will get through it.

Maybe you can mention how hard it's been on you and if you have faced depression or councelling etc. How has it been for you personally, mainly how its effected you mentally. Have you ever had breakdowns etc? Has having HH helped you become a better person because you now know what it feels like to suffer and it has helped develop a better personality? Or do you hate having to hide it in secret, ashamed and alone? Do you feel you have been denied a proper life? Do you feel you can't show people who you are? Are you angry at alternative people who claim to be different and you are actually different because you cant be social you cant be yourself, you have to lie to loved ones you feel angry at the hh but cant tell anyone etc... this actually applies to my feelings.
Soz if its too personal but this condition does touch me to the core and affects me deeply. It jepordises me as a human being in a way.

PS do any of you just prefer staying in in your pjs where you can relax and not be stressed from any of the hectic-ness in town etc. im afraid of bein around people cos i dont like being me. being at home where i sweat less and am comfortable i feel like im more myself. this will ultimately lead me into becomin a recluse where i might go mad from lack of social interaction but oh well, i cant face it.

if this makes no sense im sorry im not good at explaining this. im tired and ive been writing an essay all day and im in essay writing mode.

from
grissom :roll:

 

[de-vin]

I have OCD and Anxiety disorder and I've had it for a long time. It really makes me wondr if im loosing my mind sometimes. Im seeing a counselor and psychiatrist...the meds im taking help it some, btu I walk around like a zombie...my memory is bad and I can't focus; so I have to choose between OCD or Zombie...its a hard choice to make...now I have OCD about being bad person, fear of becoming crazy and hurting people and obsession over stupid things....whats your OCD involved with, if you'd liek to share.

-Devin-

 

[arik]

First, let me explain my situation... I think my hyper-hidrosis started back in grade 4 or 5 after my family moved to another city and I had to make friends all over again. I have it severely in my hands, feet, and armpits and have had to cope with it throughout elementary and throughout highschool. My father has it so I believe it's hereditary, although it's not something had has 'bonded' us together at all, actually we've never even discussed it with each other because he would just shrug it off and tell me to 'live with it'.
I, myself have never been suicidal, because like you I am conscious about life... Growing up, I played a lot of video games and spent a lot of time on the computer, blaming it all on my HH, thinking to myself that this was the best enjoyment I'd be able to due to my situation.

Now... Some of the questions you asked did intrigue me while I was reading your post because I've thought about the same things many times throughout my life.

"Have you ever had breakdowns etc?"
->yes, about many things, definitely including my hyperhidrosis, having used it as an excuse to cover many of my fears and insecurities. although, growing up, i started to understand that and began to find out that we all suffer from different things... and many of us are insecure about different things. i try to not take my life for granted, looking down upon it because of HH. at least i have my health, two arms, two legs, and do not suffer from a life-threatening illness.

"Has having HH helped you become a better person because you now know what it feels like to suffer and it has helped develop a better personality?"
->i've thought about this one a whole lot. HH has definitely shaped my personality and how i act. throughout highschool, i was still fairly outgoing for someone who sweat a lot with their hands, and only my very close friends actually knew why. to most people, i would hide it by patting them on the shoulder quickly or in places where their clothes would get in the way, not allowing direct contact with the sweating. i would honestly think to myself that HH was probably a gift at growing up because it helped me to realize that everyone, regardless of how they appear on the outside is hiding something and is insecure about something. most of us just hide it REALLY well. but a lot of it had to do with maturity as well, i guess.

"do you hate having to hide it in secret, ashamed and alone?"
->i did hide it quite well. the only people who would really catch on are people who i end up becoming close friends with. i have a nice smile and am good with words (somewhat), so i was able to manage within crowds because i can also avoid any physical contact that would reveal my HH in those types of situations... although it's because of that, that i rarely opened up to people and had a very small group of 'true' friends, the ones who know enough about me that they know not to make wise-cracks/jokes about my HH at times where it definitely wouldn't funny, because it was reason for my depression.

"Do you feel you have been denied a proper life?"
->i used to think this... i used to blame HH for not allowing me to live my life to the fullest. but i honestly believe that our insecurities limit us more than our actual problem. at one point in my life i was able to tell someone of the opposite sex (she was a girl, i'm a guy) who was interested in me why on the inside i seemed to closed-in. thankfully, i told her and we talked about it and she actually accepted it for what it was... and we were together for quite a long time. now were just good friends, but it helped me to realize that we all have problems, and there are always limitations (obvious ones for us ) and there will always be people that put us down... but the truth is, there are also people who will understand and accept us for who we are, because we still have our own unique personalities and other things we can contribute to this world... regardless of how many or few, encountering those people in life is well worth any bad that may happen.

Sorry, I wrote a lot more than I intended. I'm gonna head to sleep. Hope my stories/opinions provide any kind of insight for you.

 

[AvinaKo]

I have OCD...

What kind of OCD? What do you do?

I have OCD as well and combined with HH it's really quite awful. I'm going to start seeing a psychiatrist this Thursday for the OCD. But, anyway.

"do you hate having to hide it in secret, ashamed and alone?"
I've never, ever told any of my friends- not that I have friends I could trust telling them that I have issues. :roll: However, I do dislike hiding it. Once, I was with a rather former-friend and I'd just met someone new and he held out his hand for me to shake. I tried, as polite as I possibly could, to tell him that I don't like to shake hands. My hands were quite sweaty at the time and my former-friend, because she knows of my OCD, was like, "Oh, she's just a major germaphobe. Don't mind her."
What the hell? D< I would have shaken his hand-- had my hand not been sweaty. She has no fucking idea what she's talking about, and that was one of the reason why I no longer associate with her. Ugh.

"Have you ever had breakdowns etc?"
I don't think I've ever had an actual breakdown, but at one point I was extremely reclusive and hardly ever wanted to go to school.

"Has having HH helped you become a better person because you now know what it feels like to suffer and it has helped develop a better personality?" "
Kind of. I can understand how people would feel, most certainly, if they were in a similar situation.

"Do you feel you have been denied a proper life?"
At times, however, I know it could be worse.

 

[whitmo]

I cope by pretending that nothing is real. I look at the world being fake, my life, the people around me not being real. I see it as a video game almost. I am just trying to make it to the next level. Just survive. I day dream alot to. Sometimes my mind will just wander off and I invision myself being a normal person or having the perfect life. My life is so crappy that I feel that I am here for a reason and that at some point something amazing will come my way.

 

[JayL]

I cope by:

* Always ordering iced drinks at Starbucks, even in the winter

* Wearing summer clothing in winter

* Leaving socks off whenever possible - I don't know how much heat we really lose that way, but it sure feels cooler

* Constant supply of ice water at my desk

* Lots of ice cream (utterly counterproductive, since the weight gain will end up making the sweating worse. But as counterproductive remedies go, it's yummy.)

* Breathable fabrics

* "Technical" fabrics (e.g. DriFit gym clothes) with wicking abilities

* Work from home, where I can set the thermostat as low as I want

* Year-round A/C

* Cool washcloth on the neck

* Dorky, dri-fit head tie at the gym

* But: avoid the gym anyway, you sweat there!

* Always get an extra napkin with your drink - one to hold the drink, one to wipe your brow

* Also avoid situations with other people who might notice your sweating. Only hang out in cold places with vision-impaired people. Take their glasses; tell them they look better that way.

* Learn to look for where the air registers are. Sit under them to get the best breeze

* Sleep on your back, not your side or stomach - feels much cooler, for reasons that I can't explain

* Become an utter hermit, getting all your groceries purchased online, never leaving the comfort of your climate-controlled apartment

Oh, wait, I think you were looking for healthy tips.

 

[coriander1992]

I'm 15, and my HH started when I started my first year of secondary school (or that is when I can start remembering it anyway), so about 4 years ago.
HH has ruined my life in so many ways, but it has also made me into a different person in a good way. I am much more sensitive to people's feelings now, and I just think differently and appreciate things differently.
HH was one of a culmination of things that led to me developing social anxiety, now that really has ruined my life, but i'm not about to let it get me down. I have high aspirations, and I will do all I can to push myself out of my little SA bubble and do the things I want to do.
Anyway, back to HH...
When I first realised that I sweated rather a lot from my armpits, I didn't really know how to hide it. I remember being at sleep-overs and somebody saying something like "are you a bit hot?" because i had massive wet patches under my arms. Sounds stupid, but that was absoloutely mortifying for me. It drew attention to the fact that I had majorly sweaty armpits, so everybody looked and saw. There was no point even trying to hide it at that point because everybody already knew it was there. I would get asked questions about why I had extra strong anti-perspirants in my bag, when most other girls my age didn't even have to wear deoderant or anything at that point.
So yeah, it was pretty embarrassing, arkward and just generally sucky.
Now obviously i'm older, and i'm sort of over my HH a bit. I don't think about it often at all, and I rarely have the sort of panic situations that I used to have all the time about covering up and thinking people could see my sweat.
I'm know probably the world's expert in hiding sweat patches from other people!! :roll:
Like you grissom, I have given up trying to tell my parents. My mum, anyway, my dad doesen't know - and I have no intention of telling him after his "you'll grow out of it" reaction to me telling him about SA.
My mum thinks that it is totally normal and I am just over exaggerating it and being paranoid. She is, however, very supportive though and is the one who goes out to get me all those extra strong anti-perspirants, so I can't complain really. I would just like her to be a little more understanding at times.

Yup, I had a breakdown once - atleast i'd call it a breakdown.
I was so sick of HH and how it was stopping me doing things that I wanted to do out of sheer fear of people knowing about my sweating, that I just went to bed and cried for ages, bacically screaming about how it wasn't fair, and why me and all that kinda stuff.
I do still get miffed with it sometimes even now, i'll just think to myself when i'm burning my skin off with all the nasty HH treatments, "I shouldn't have to be doing this, none of those other girls has to do it, why can't I be normal?" It's so crap.
I don't tend to get so down about it now though, I have too many other things to think about!


The main thing I hate is that I used to be such an out-going person - and really I still am when i'm in comfortable situations - but HH contibuted to my SA (I beleive) which has meant that i'm not that same person anymore. I probably never will be like that again, and it sucks because I come across as a completely different person to who I really am.
I bet anybody who knew me in primary school would not recognise me now, and I don't mean physically either.

HH has greatly affected my mentality, and just the whole way that I think and view things. I can seriously see myself developing agraphobia in the future, and that isn't what I want for myself, but I don't think I can change that now to be totally honest.

I can only thank HH for adding more confusion to an already extremely confusing time in my life...so thanks HH.

 

[bill-uk]

Hang in there Coriander and all. I've had this since 16 and now i'm 47. Had some pretty bad times but many more great times since. You have to duck and dive through life until a cure comes along, but overall if I am honest, I have had a pretty good life and experiences, am married with 2 amazing sons who I am extremely proud of and a wife who doesn't seem to care about my problem. I know i will have some tough days and embarrassing times ahead, but others are embarassed by things that I take for granted and in my stride. We all have our crosses to bear, ours are harder at times than others, but we can also take strength from facing our problems a day at a time and knowing that others on here know exactly what we are going through.

BTW my sons were born in 1991 and 1993, we would have loved to have had a daughter born in 1992 as I suspect you were. And I would be proud of having a sensitive, thoughtful daughter as you seem to be.

 

[coriander1992]

Thanks bill-uk!
It does give me to hope to hear that you have managed to still lead a good life with HH, thank you for sharing your story

 

[dragontoe]

this e book has great information about how to cure hyperhidrosis
http://vikash86.sweatcure.hop.clickbank.net/