CBT for hyperhidrosis (sweating)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can help with excessive sweating
Do you shy away from shaking people’s hands because they’re covered in sweat? Does your sweating get worse when you’re nervous? Are you unable to build personal relationships because of your sweating problem? If the answer is yes, this article may help you overcome your problem. Sweating is a natural bodily function that is essential to life. However, for some people excessive sweating is an embarrassing problem that affects them to the point of mental distress. Excessive sweating is known as ‘hyperhidrosis’ and there are alternative medicine and complementary therapy techniques that can help.
The first thing people will reach for when trying to combat their sweat problem is anti-perspirant. This can help the sweating problem by covering up body odours and drying out the armpits but they don’t address the psychological problems that are either triggering the sweating or making it worse. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, or CBT, can help to reduce the social anxieties about hyperhidrosis and while not providing a physical cure to the problem, CBT can help decrease the physical symptoms by altering the mental outlook.
CBT takes the fear of sweating away from hyperhidrosis sufferers
Sweat is the body’s cooling system. We each have two to four million sweat glands around the body and in particularly large numbers on the soles of our feet, palms of the hand, the forehead, cheeks and armpits. People who suffer with hyperhidrosis have sweat glands that either overact to certain stimuli or are generally overactive; this means they produce too much sweat. There are two types of hyperhidrosis – primary focal which is not caused by another medical condition or medications and secondary generalised which is.
Primary focal hyperhidrosis is the medical condition of excessive sweating and typically occurs around areas such as the hands, feet, armpits and head or face. Primary focal usually begins in childhood and can be inherited. Sweating episodes occur at least once a week but rarely while asleep. Secondary generalised hyperhidrosis occurs due to another present medical problem or as a side-effect to drugs and medications. Sweating is across larger areas of the body than with primary focal and predominantly happens when sleeping (we’ve all probably experienced waking in the middle of the night covered in sweat).
Excessive sweating, and the overreaction of the sweat glands, are partly down to the complex relationship and interaction of the body’s temperature systems and emotional triggers. The emotional component is where CBT can help. Hyperhidrosis sufferers experience anxieties because of their sweating which either triggers the sweating in the first place or makes it worse – a vicious cycle begins and it is difficult to overcome. Anti-perspirants, iontophoresis and now Botox can help alleviate the physical symptoms while Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can get to work on the fears, anxieties and avoidance behaviours associated with hyperhidrosis.
Hyperhidrosis can be helped with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
When you start to sweat, you’ll probably start to feel anxiety about sweating due to the embarrassment and fear of being rejected socially. This makes the body experience a fear response because of the perceived threat of forthcoming embarrassment which creates more physical heat and energy – which triggers even more sweating. CBT treats that initial anxiety and can help to ease the sweating symptoms.
Using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy along with medical hyperhidrosis treatment can help take the worry out of the physical and mental discomfort associated with excessive sweating. A holistic approach to the problem means you’ll be able to go to job interviews, meet new people or enjoy a full social life without the worry of sweating.
Article submitted by
Daniel Alexander, GoToSee Journalist
Date published
15/10/08
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October 15th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Even though I agree that CBT can help reduce hyperhidrosis, I’m pretty sure it is nearly impossible to completely cure it in a short time span.
This is why I highly suggest using iontophoresis with treatments because I believe it is easier to actually make the transition once you have control over the condition.
I’ve been suffering for palmar and plantar hyperhidrosis for my whole life and I’ve been always very self conscious about it but once I got rid of sweating with iontophoresis my anxiety related to sweating completely disappeared even when I don’t do the treatments on purpose and my palms start sweating again.
And this has happened because I’ve finally been able to see how it is to have completely dry palms so it’s easier to make the “switch” from constantly thinking about it to not really putting too much importance on it.
All in all I’m really happy there are alternatives to “quick fix” techniques because it’s always better to think long term and to really handle psychological triggers that make this condition even worse.
Andy Goodman
March 15th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
At the West Suffolk CBT Service our therapists have been referred clients with hyperhidrosis, and we have found that CBT can reduce symptoms.
The predominant problem our clients have expressed is their fear of others reactions to their sweating. Clients with this condition may engage in numerous safety behaviours, which ironically make them more likely to sweat excessively. For example, wearing excess clothes (to disguise sweating), keeping arms by the sides (arms crossed) etc. An intense anxiety reaction to sweating is also likely to increase levels of sweating. Dropping safety behaviours and changing the way that excess sweating is self-appraised/interpreted can make a significant difference.
Dr James Manning
Managing Director
West Suffolk CBT Service Ltd