Last week, I had a rash that was on my right thigh. At first, it was just a few bumps and I wasn't too worried about it. But then, last Friday night, the bumps were red, raised, itching, and spreading. I began to get concerned. We all have our reactions to certain illnesses—like some people hate to throw up. I'm not saying I like to throw up, but I don't hate it like some people. Well, I hate rashes. It's hard for me to live with myself with my skin so foreign looking.

I woke up in the middle of the night with it itching. I turned on the light and noticed that it was spreading to my arm. I woke up my husband. He got me an ice pack which helped tremendously with the itching. He then went to search on the internet. I had scraped my knee (See "In My Body") a few weeks prior, so we searched whether rashes could come from scraped knees. They could. But, of course, they could come from a whole host of other things too. The more I researched, the more concerned I got. I saw MRSA popping up in my husband's searches.

I decided to go back to bed. My husband continued to search the internet. The fact was, I felt fine. Other than the rash, I did not have a fever or feel sick. I didn't think it was emergency room worthy, so there were two things I could do about it. First, I could come up with a list of 100 things it could be and turn into, or second, I could go back to sleep and get to an urgent care center in the morning. I chose the latter. I went back to bed and just breathed. Even when my husband came in after his searching and said, "We really need to get you to a doctor tomorrow", I just breathed. I was not going to give the rash more power than it already had. I wasn't going to feed into it and make it more than it was.

Too often we let the mental get into our illnesses. The internet provides a wealth of information, but it can also be a dangerous thing. It lets our mind get to scary places of all of the crazy diseases we could possibly have. Not feeling right is always scary. But next time you find yourself letting your mental thoughts encroach on your physical illness, try to stop it. Breathe. Calm yourself down. Stress has very real effects on our health and the last thing we need if we are already not well, is to add stress into the mix.

I did go to the urgent care center on Saturday and to a dermatologist on the following Monday. Jury is still out as to what caused the rash, but it is improving. The less I focus on it and go about my day, the better off I am mentally and physically. I'm not ignoring it since I am doing what needs to be done to heal it. I'm just not giving it any extra energy than it needs.

Do you let the mental compound your illness? If so, try to recognize the role that it is playing in your healing process. And then breathe.

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Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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