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TLLC Blog Posts

TLLC's blog is moving!

In January, 2023, TLLC partnered with Lichen Sclerosus Support Network (LSSN). This means my new 2023 blog posts will be published on LSSN’s page. For full details on what the partnership entails, watch this video.

Image of a person in bed relaxing. The background is a pale blue, and the title test reads "Stress Reduction: The Secret You Need To Know" is in black font at the bottom.

Stress Reduction: The Secret You Need to Know

Are you worried about the effects of stress on your body and your Lichen Sclerosus? Do you feel caught in a vicious circle of knowing stress can flare your symptoms, flaring, stressing about the flare, etc.? If yes, you are not alone. Keep on reading for the secret of stress reduction and lichen sclerosus.

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Image of a desk with a succulent, a candle, and a person writing in a gratitude journal. The background is a pale purple.

Gratitude Journaling: A Secret to Accepting Lichen Sclerosus

In this post, I continue on the topic of mental health and Lichen Sclerosus, but instead of focusing on a particular emotion, I will discuss how writing in a gratitude journal can make your journey with Lichen Sclerosus a little bit lighter. I begin by discussing the events that led to my hitting rock bottom, why I started to write in a gratitude journal, and how it can help you when processing living with Lichen Sclerosus.

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Image of two people with brown skin and brown hair sitting and laughing and talking with each other. The image is set amongst a pale purple background.

Coming Out To Others With Lichen Sclerosus

Do you feel alone and isolated because of your Lichen Sclerosus? Do you want to share with others that you have Lichen Sclerosus but have no idea where to start? In this post, I share some of the pros and cons associated with telling others about LS, and provide tips and tricks for how to start the conversation, if and when you are ready.

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A graphic saying 'ups' and 'downs' amongst a pale purple background.

Progress Isn’t Linear: The Unexpected Reality of Progress

In this post, I want to focus on a more abstract aspect of mental health that you may struggle with. It is an aspect that is harder to articulate than anger or fear, but it is incredibly important to discuss, nonetheless. That is, I will be discussing expectations about progress with Lichen Sclerosus. If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “why am I not better yet”, “why isn’t this working”, “other people seem to get relief faster, why am I still in pain”, “I feel better physically, but the mental effects of this disease are still tearing me apart and I know I should be better by now”, etc., then this post is definitely for you. 

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Image of a person writing down in a notebook, representing the concept of education and learning. The background is a pale purplee.

Fear and the Power of Education Pt. 2

My first post about fear highlighted various fears you can experience after getting diagnosed with and processing a Lichen Sclerosus diagnosis. Some of those fears included fears about relationships and sex, fears about developing vulvar cancer, and fear of the unknown. You can read about this here. In my follow-up piece, I discussed fears relating to sex and current/future relationships and provide some practical advice (checklist-style) to help lower the volume of those fears, read that piece here. In today’s post, I tackle the fear of developing vulvar cancer and the fear of the unknown. The main theme with this post and last week’s post is the power of education and how empowering ourselves can help ease our worries and fears.

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Image of a multicolored brain sketch, surrounded by different objects like pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, etc. representing learning and education. The background is a pale purple.

Fear and the Power of Education

This post focuses on the fear surrounding relationships and sex. Part two explores the physical fears a Lichen Sclerosus diagnosis can bring up, like the fear of developing vulvar cancer.

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The title text reads: "The Grief Project: Jen's Story" in black cursive font. Underneath is a wreath of pink and yellow flowers with green leaves.

The Grief Project: Jen’s Story

This week on The Grief Project we have Jen, a fellow LS warrior, who will be discussing her journey with grief from Lichen Sclerosus, a traumatic birthing experience, and episiotomy scar endometriosis. Jen is one hell of a woman, she has faced some serious hardships and beat them all.

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Image of a person pulling up a black sweater over their face in fear. The background is a pale purple.

The Paralyzing Strength of Fear When You Have Lichen Sclerosus

In this post, I highlight some of the fears you may experience. I end with a call to normalize having these fears and all of the emotions we feel. In my next post, I provide practical suggestions for managing your fears with Lichen Sclerosus. Importantly, this advice is given in a way that doesn’t invalidate or attempt to completely eliminate how you feel.

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Image of a person in a black and white stripped shirt, long brown hair and black glasses with their hands on their head screaming. The background is a pale blue and the title text reads: "How to Cope with Anger and Lichen Sclerosus" in black at the bottom of the image.

How to Cope with Anger and LS

This blog post will focus on the anger and frustration I felt because of the modifications I had to incorporate into my life for the sake of my mental health and wellbeing.

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I am often surprised that she captures what has been on my mind.”

Jaclyn manages to put into words many of the thoughts, feelings, fears (oh, so many fears), and questions, that come with a diagnosis of LS. She captures both the physical and often more importantly the mental health aspects of learning to live with LS. Her generosity in sharing her personal journey and speaking truthfully about LS provides much needed hope and perspective
Joanne

Reading her blogs has helped me deal with LS in every way – physically, emotionally, and mentally. -Maria

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