The Hidden Root Cause: How Carisa Healed Her Eczema by Addressing Chronic Stress

Learn how addressing chronic stress became the breakthrough moment in Carisa’s eczema healing journey.

In the holistic world, we often focus on things like gut health, nutrition, and functional testing to uncover the root causes of eczema. And while these tools are incredibly healing, sometimes there’s something else at play that nutrition and gut health can’t solve.

That was the case for my client Carisa.

A little over a year ago, Carisa’s eczema flared seemingly out of the blue. She never had eczema before, and visited a dermatologist to see if he could help. He prescribed her an oral steroid, which only made matters worse—the steroids caused a drug rash that covered her entire body.

Carisa said it was the hardest time in her life:

“The simple things in life that we take for granted are taken away with eczema. It was embarrassing. It was hard for me to function every day.”

Taking the functional medicine route

Carisa started working with a functional medicine doctor to see if he could help calm her eczema. He approached her eczema as most functional medicine practitioners do, with functional testing and nutrition changes. Carisa completely changed her diet and cut out gluten, dairy and sugar.

She was eating well, and following all the protocols the doctor recommended. Her drug rash went away, and she detoxed from the steroids, but her eczema wasn’t getting better. The question was…why?

Although Carisa’s functional medicine doctor helped in many ways, there was only so much he could do. Carisa realized she needed someone who specialized in treating eczema—someone who could hold her hand throughout the process every step of the way.

And that’s exactly why Carisa joined The Ex-zema™ Coaching Program.

Helping Carisa uncover the real root cause of her eczema

Carisa and I worked together to identify imbalances in her gut, and she followed every recommendation I gave her. But after months of following the steps in my eczema healing protocol, Carisa still wasn’t making much progress. I could see how hard Carisa was working and we were both frustrated. Until one day everything finally clicked. We realized that Carisa’s chronic stress was blocking her body’s ability to heal.

I knew from our calls that Carisa was dealing with a lot of stress. She worked a difficult job, was raising teenagers, and her husband often traveled for work. It was like everyday Carisa was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And as a result, her body was stuck in fight or flight mode 24/7.

When your body is under a constant state of stress, you release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones impact your immune response, putting the body on high alert. And because your body is focused on protecting you from the perceived danger, it can’t focus on healing.

In other words, you can eat the best diet and take the best supplements in the world, but if you’re stuck in fight or flight mode, your body cannot repair itself and heal.

Chronic stress as the missing piece to healing

If Carisa wanted to heal her eczema, she needed to change her relationship to stress. It wasn’t about removing all stress from her life—that’s impossible—but changing the way she responded to it.

I encouraged Carisa to make more space in her life for things like meditation, gratitude, and self-care. We had conversations about painful situations she was holding onto from her past. She developed new coping strategies, and let go of a lot of things that were holding her back.

And because we had already worked on balancing her gut and addressing nutrient deficiencies, Carisa’s body FINALLY began to heal:

Beyond clear skin: the ripple effect of healing

Aside from healing her eczema, Carisa has more energy, feels great, and can finally watch her son’s Lacrosse games without experiencing a flare (something she hasn’t been able to do in over a year!). She’s made lifestyle changes that not only support her health, but her family’s health as well.

When asked what advice she’d give to someone else struggling with eczema, she said:

“Do the work. It's worth it. Even when the end result feels far away and unreachable, it’s in your near future.”

I truly believe everyone has the capability to do this work. But the way we get there looks different from person to person. It takes commitment, effort, and most importantly, trust. Once Carisa connected all the dots in her healing journey, she finally learned the lessons eczema was there to teach her.

Do you think chronic stress could be impacting your eczema healing journey?

Here’s how I can help you get results like Carisa:

The Ex-zema™ Root Cause Solution: Get access to my 10-step proven method for identifying and addressing the root causes of your eczema—at an affordable price. Inside the membership, you’ll find structured guidance, expert-led trainings, and a supportive community to help you heal every step of the way.

Ex-zema™ 1-1 Coaching: For those ready to fast-track their healing with personalized support, my one-on-one coaching offers a tailored approach to overcoming eczema based on your individual situation. We’ll work closely together to uncover your unique root causes, create a customized healing plan, and make adjustments along the way so you can see real, lasting results.