You know stress is affecting your skin, but seeing your flares, redness, flaking and dryness on your skin stresses you out even more. It seems like a never-ending cycle... Sound familiar?

Stress got the best of me during the process of relieving my son's eczema, I wasn't sleeping well looking for information, I was blaming myself all the time for what was happening to my little John, and in the process I wasn't realizing that I was passing all my stress on to him.

I would tell him "don't scratch", I would insist that he eat certain foods, etc. All my behavior was only frustrating him more and making his skin worse.

This is a complex issue because everyone tells us to relax, to do yoga or meditation, sure that will calm us down but it's not always the case.

Meditation and yoga definitely help, they are perfect activities to clear your mind, connect with yourself, with your body and achieve inner peace. However, for many people starting these new activities can be a bit frustrating.

That's why today I want to share with you 3 things that helped me to reduce mine and my son's stress levels in a short time.

Plan outdoor activities 🛝

Kids love to go to the park and go for a bike ride. I used to keep John always inside the house trying to protect his skin, what I didn't know is that contact with nature helped him get his skin healthy, now I'm taking him outside almost every day, I take advantage of my backyard for that, we even recently built a small park.

If you live in an apartment, you can go for a walk, go out to the park, the important thing is to get some sun and fresh air. Don't stay indoors!

Established routines ⏰

Routines usually provide a lot of stability and also reduce stress, if you know what you are going to do in the morning for breakfast you probably won't have to be thinking for half an hour what to have for breakfast.

Having a schedule for the day means you can be more relaxed. If you are caring for a child with eczema routines are also great for them, know what to expect during the day giving them more comfort.

Learn to breathe and teach your little one to do it 👃🏽

Being aware of our breathing is an excellent way to start in the world of meditation, when you have a moment of anguish, anger or despair use one of these breaths.

💛 Deep Breathing: Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose for 4 counts, hold your breath for 4 counts and exhale gently through your mouth for 6 counts.

💛 Visualized Breathing: Close your eyes and imagine inhaling light and calm as you inhale, and exhaling tension and stress as you exhale.

💛 3-3 Breath: Breathe in slowly for 3 counts, hold your breath for 3 counts, and exhale for 3 counts. Repeat.