This is an issue that every single person can struggle with.
These are the simple things like:
1. Acne
2. Dental Hygiene
3. Hair Health
4. Nail Health
5. Dark Circles and Wrinkles
I'm only mentioning these five because these are issues that everyone deals with. Are they big issues? Absolutely not! But they are made THAT much harder in a person who has chronic pain and chronic illness.
1. Acne
Toxins in the body can be excreted in the skin. Anyone can see this - usually when they eat too much sugar or processed food, if they are under stress and the acidity in the digestive tract increases, etc...
So take someone whose body's immune system is fighting its own organs. Imagine the amount of toxins in that person? Or someone who is always dealing with inflammation and increased acidity in the digestive tract to begin with? Imagine how hard it might be to maintain clear skin with all of this! Not to mention all of the side effects of medications that can have a huge effect on the skin.
2. Dental Hygiene
Not only is it about acidity in our food, caffeine, wine, red berries, etc... Now you have to take into account medications, difficulty absorbing calcium and Vitamin D, then add in some extra acidity from possible vomiting, etc... This becomes a never-ending battle.
3. Hair Health
We are dealing with low levels of several nutrients, the inability to absorb food and the nutrients needed to keep the entire body healthy, again with medications - hair health takes a huge hit. Some people lose their hair (even if it is not from the chemotherapy and radiation treatments for patients with Cancer), or their hair can just change in thickness one way or the other, so it's that much harder keeping the hair healthy on a regular basis.
4. Nail Health
Again this is such a small issue that it is not worth mentioning in day to day life. Bad nail health is simply an inconvenience... but again with illness, inflammation, medications, etc... Nails get brittle, they can peel, they have no strength whatsoever, and oftentimes they can end up with ridges and they can go yellow. All because of the inability to absorb proper nutrients and being internally ill.
5. Dark Circles and Wrinkles
Lack of sleep and stress. Need I say much more? Sleep schedules being absolutely sporadic and the amount of daily stress that some of this causes - no wonder we can all tell when someone is ill. You can usually see that sunken-in look in someone's face, and dark-circles add to that effect.
These are all stupid little tiny issues - but sometimes, on a bad day, they can become the "straw that broke the camel's back". Trying to deal with all of these huge issues, and then having to go home and spend two hours on a beauty regimen - JUST to maintain that I don't get abscesses on my face the next morning that I need to get lanced - can sometimes provoke a breakdown.
These issues are universal. They are small and they are trivial. So why am I mentioning them?
Can you imagine JUST having to worry about that? I mean.. someone's worst health issue is finding a zit on his/her face because it's Winter and he/she is not getting the proper amount of Vitamin D.... Cause I sure can't. What should be a simple once-in-a-while problem is an every day struggle - because of health issues that are completely out of our control.
Sometimes general maintenance can be the one thing that breaks me down.
Now on that note - I am extremely lucky. I have the TIME and the support to spend on this general maintenance. Some others are not so lucky. And anyone who knows me knows that I actually really ENJOY taking care of my skin, my hair, my nails, my teeth etc... I just hate going to the dentist. But the rest of it - although sometimes I get frustrated because I can never get rid of my dark circles - I really enjoy my specific beauty regimen. I just wanted all of you to understand that it's not always easy doing the 'simple' things.
So what are my tips? Try and find a simple routine that you do every single morning and every single night. Play around with brands and types and find out what your skin/eyes/nails/hair likes; what it responds the best to. Just try and keep a routine that makes you feel better and comfortable. It took me years to find products that were really good for my specific routine and lifestyle. It's all trial and error. And trying to find more time to sleep is usually a good plan!
Take time for yourself for this little stuff too.
Reducing stress helps too - but that's usually the answer that everybody gives everybody else for every little problem - and let's face it - life always has stress in it no matter what you do.