Over the nearly 8 years I have been writing a blog, I have mentioned my mental health and anxiety. In fact, the actual writing of the blog helps with my mental health in such a positive way.
I have always tried to be open about my struggles with depression and anxiety. In my own mind, if my openness helps people share their own problems (with me or someone) and potentially seek out assistance, then that is worth its weight in gold.
My mental health has been an issue for over 25 years now and I am quite heavily medicated. This is something that used to bother me a LOT however in recent years my opinion has changed dramatically.
Not Myself…
If I was diabetic, I would take my meds. If I had heart problems, I would take my meds. If I had arthritis, I would take my meds.
So why would I NOT take my medication, if it helps the problem?
And for most part, it really does. I am stable the majority of the time.
But now is not that time.
My depression is extremely bad; my anxiety even more so.
Seven Weeks Old….
But that is not specifically what I want to talk about on this blog. But it helps explains things a little.
Previously when my mental health has been poor, it manifests itself in extreme sadness. Soul shattering, grief struck, misery with no light at the end of any tunnel.
However, this time round I have had a different side effect.
The incessant, desperate need to scratch and claw at my skin until it is bleeding. I then re-scratch over and over until blood is running down my arms, face and anywhere else I have injured.
And A Few More…
Now this is not something that I can help; I wake up in the morning and I have blood all over my skin and my bedsheets. It is something I don’t even know that I am doing.
And I can’t seem to stop it.
Of course, re-scratching repeatedly means the ‘wounds’ don’t heal up. I now have multiple scars over my arms, shoulders, face, ears and even in my hair. Every time I scratch them, they get bigger and more sore.
Even In My Ears
The issue with ‘wounds’ is that when they are healing they itch. So what do you immediately want to do?
Scratch them!
This has been a problem for about the past eight weeks and it is only getting worse.
Jokingly in a conversation with friends, they mentioned that I needed some baby scratch mitts.
ScratchSleeves To The Rescue
You know, the small white gloves that you put on your new born to stop them from accidentally hurting themselves.
Of course, baby scratch mitts would be far too small. My uncle suggested taping oven gloves to my hands in the hope that this would help.
That is what got me thinking.
Surely this is something other people have/do struggle with?
Of course, the first thing I did was hop onto Google to see what I could come up with.
My first search choice hit the jackpot – Adult Scratch Mitts.
Adult Scratch Mitts
Looking into the options I was torn between quite a large variety. Weighing up the different choices, I started to discount various styles. A lot of the scratch mitts need straps wrapping around your wrist which is difficult when alone.
And then I saw a different product which really piqued my interest.
These are the brainchild of Jae Rance and Mark Bean. Invented when their baby, Max was 4 months old and suffered with terrible eczema. After finding Max in his cot covered in blood and scratches, they looked to the internet for options but found nothing suitable.
Scratch Free!
Jae took a sewing machine, some silk left over from her wedding dress and an old t-shirt and Scratchsleeves was invented!
Ten years later and there are various styles and options for babies and children including onesies, pyjamas, bodysuits and the original style which looks like a simple bolero.
The basic idea is the addition of a section of satin material at the bottom of the arms which are then sewn up. This means your hands are enclosed and your nails cannot claw at any part of you.
How Will This Work…..?
I looked at the adult options which consist of mainly the bolero’s and sweatshirts. Now as pre-menopausal woman, the thought of wearing a sweatshirt in bed filled me with dread.
The next thing was to look at the sizing guide to see if they would fit me. Being plus size I wasn’t optimistic that there would be a large enough option for me.
That was when I found out that you order the items by wingspan!
Soft and Satin
Now for those who have no idea how big their wingspan is, an easy rule of thumb is that is it usually the same as your height.
Being only 5 foot, it was very easy to check the guides and see what size I needed. This is where I had a bit of shock when it showed that I needed a small!
Now, I couldn’t get my head around this being right. I never fit in anything small, but I went with it and ordered a small. I then panicked a little and popped a medium in the shopping cart too.
Time To Try
My theory behind that was I needed the items as quickly as possible and if the small was no good, the medium might be. I then also had the option of sending one or the other back.
Two days later and the package arrived on the doorstep. I was really keen to open it and give the Scratchsleeves a try.
I was very glad that I had ordered the two sizes, because although the small certainly did fit, it was a little snug on my bingo-wings. The medium gave a little extra room and was exceedingly comfortable.
Total Protection
Heading up to bed that night, I liberally doused my scabs and sores with Bio-Oil as this has been helping with the scarring and dryness.
Taking the tags off, I climbed into bed and slipped my arms into the sleeves of the bolero. The soft cotton whispered up my arms and the soft satin encasing my fingers was really comforting.
One of my ‘soothing’ techniques when anxious is to rub soft material or a smooth pebble/worry bead. I also have a thumb ring which is two joined circles and I play with that constantly.
Slowly Getting Better….
Brushing the satin against my face felt very soothing and I couldn’t feel my nails against my skin at all. This seemed like a really good start to me and so I settled down for the night.
I was absolutely stunned to wake up the following morning with not a single drop of blood or open sore. This was the first time in about six weeks and couldn’t believe the difference.
Instead of weeping sores, the scabs were hard and dry and over the next 5 days they got smaller and smaller. Of course, the fact that I have been clawing at them means that this has left quite a lot of scarring which I am self-conscious about.
Sleepy Times
Thankfully Bio-Oil helps with the reduction in scarring and discolouration so I will keep using that in the mean time.
As for the Scratchsleeves, they are a total game-changer and I will continue to use them until my anxiety calms down and I stop scratching.
Either way, if you, a relative or small child is going through a similar issue then I would highly suggest Scratchsleeves as they really have solved my problem in one go.
Till next time,
SPSG xxx