Hello to all those who are reading this. I've never been one to post on any sort of forum or anything similar in the past, but this is a topic I feel extremely strongly about, and I genuinely feel as though my story may be able to help others, hence why i've decided to write this post as a one off.
I'm 20 years old now, and at long last, after almost 4 years of agonising self-loathing, anguish, and fear, I finally feel as though I have beaten my hyperhidrosis. It's important to consider that i am by no means immune to sweating now, and unfortunately tend to suffer more than the average human, but I have overcome the problem mentally, which I feel is the real problem that haunts so many of us, and causes one to turn to forums such as these.
Up until I was 16 I never thought twice about sweating profusely. I was a healthy, active, and very sporty teenager who played rugby, football and cricket to a decent standard. However, on one particular day in summer, I was around a friends house, when his older brother proceeded to ridicule me for sweating too much whilst we were playing table tennis. It was a hot day, and my palms were obviously sweaty, as most people's would've been, but this one boy proceeded to make a much bigger deal out of it, than it really should've been. His comments stayed with me though, and started eating me up inside. As ridiculous as it sounds, these passing comments turned my life upside down. From that moment forward, from when i was 16, right up until i started university, the prospect of sweating consumed my every thought. I was so scared for someone to make the same comments again, that all I could think about was trying to prevent it. In reality, it made things 1000x worse. The more I thought about it, the worse it got, and nothing I tried made any remote difference. I went from being a fairly sociable person at school, to fearing any conversation that may potentially involve hand-shaking. I went from dressing normally for a boy of my age, to chucking 90% of my wardrobe, and only wearing white or black. I didn't take my blazer off at school ,even in the heart of summer, for 2 years, through fear of having sweaty armpits. Luckily I succeeded in getting into my first choice university, but looking back on it I was very lucky. Instead of focusing on lessons, I spent my time thinking of weather I was sweating, trying to sit as close to windows as possible, and keeping them open even if it was freezing or raining outside. My sport went downhill as well, as I genuinely became fearful of exercising, despite the fact that perspiring during sport is normal, and even actively encouraged for the most part.
By the time I grauduated secondary school, I honestly felt unbelievably depressed. I had told nobody of my hyperhidrosis, not even my family, and used to check forums such as these most nights. I thought that there was no way I could beat it, and it would inhibit me for life. Even though it hadn't ruined my friendships people i'd known at school for years, I was terrified of getting to university, and meeting new people who would judge me instantly for being a sweaty mess.
So how did it get better? the fact of the matter is I got unbelievably lucky. I met the most amazing girl in my first week of uni, and I'm fortunate enough to say that she's been my girlfriend for almost two years now. We clicked almost instantly personality wise, but there was a constant fear that she would discover my sweating problem, and not go near me because of it. I would refuse to hold her hand, despite really wanting to, and it made both of us really upset. Finally, one night when we were watching a horror film, she begged me to hold her hand, as she was scared, and I succumbed to telling her that they were really sweaty (playing it off as if it was because of the film.) She didn't even flinch and grabbed my hand immediately, saying that she didn't care. It was at that point, that I started to realise that not everyone cared about sweating as much as I did. Yes, it is frowned upon by some, in the same way as those who eat too loudly, or those that chew their fingernails, but for the majority, it has never factored into their mind as an issue.
From that moment forward, I began to hold hands more regularly with my girlfriend, who never once questioned them being sweaty in the slightest. I soon spent less time thinking about it, and more and more time, enjoying life itself. As time went on, my worries slowly subsided and I began to get more and more confident. I still got a bit nervous meeting new people and having sweaty hands, but other than that, I never really thought about it. I started buying clothes I actually liked, and trying to get back into fashion, which was unbelievable. When it was boiling and I started sweating in a grey t-shirt, I just thought to myself, ‘it's bloody hot, i can't be the only one sweating buckets!'
The main reason for writing this post though is not to necessarily just say embrace sweating, but to stress that the less you think about it, the less you'll sweat. for the most part, unless it's a boiling day my armpits won't sweat at all, so long as I put a bit of standard deoderent on. None of this special spray stuff. I tried it, and it makes no difference whatsoever, apart from giving you strong discomfort, and incredibly itchy armpits. In my opinion, hyperhidrosis is more of a mental illness than most people would have you believe. Those who suffer from it, can't get away from it, because it's all they can think about, but I'm here to say, that for many of us, we don't have an embarrassing problem as we may think, but rather just a fear of sweating that transcends into us doing so profusely. Fears can be overcome, and I truly believe that acknowledging that you are not abnormal, and that you're no different to others, you'll begin to forget you ever had these worrries to begin with.
I'm aware of how hard it must be to just block these thoughts out your mind. If i hadn't had my girlfriend, I could well have been the same as I was a few years ago, but there are certainly ways you can try. My advice would be to focus on something specific, preferably something you enjoy, and concentrate intently on it. Let it consume your every thought. Something thought provoking, like a rubiks cube maybe. Then after trying to complete the rubiks cube, assess how much you've sweat in that period. I can honestly guarentee that If youre attention has been solely on the rubiks cube, your sweating will be somewhat minimal in comparison to normal. Slowly but surely, attempt to get on with everyday life. Spend a few days at home, alone, sorting things out, with nobody around. If you do sweat, who cares, nobody can even see, just try and relax. I do know full well, that this sounds a bit too good to be true, and it won't work instantly for everyone, but fingers crossed it steers many of you in right direction.
To end this post then, there's a few things I want people to remember. Hyperhidrosis does not have to be permanent, people can beat it! In my opinion, it is a mental fear, rather than an embaressing problem, and one that people can tackle through not only embracing the fact that the vast majority don't give a shit if our hands are sweaty, but acknowledging that if they can somewhow turn their focus elsewhere, the sweating itself may seem to improve. I'll end by saying that plenty of celebrities suffer badly with hyperhidrosis, and most are adored, respected, and relaxed about it in every respect. Joe Swash and Lee Evans are prime examples, and the latter in particular still sold out stadiums regularly. Heck, Marc Anthony was married to Jennifer bloody Lopez, and he has one of the worst cases of extreme sweating i've ever seen. Please do respond to this discussion if you have any questions, and i'll do my best to answer them, and from the bottom of my heart, I truly hope this has helped you somehow. YOU CAN BEAT THIS EVERYONE, DON'T LET IT DEFEAT YOU!!!
