08.10.2025

Living with Chronic Hives or Urticaria: Mental Health, Therapy and Coaching

Living with chronic urticaria and angioedema can be physically and emotionally exhausting. I'm a trauma-informed therapist diagnosed with this condition 3 years ago, and now in remission. I offer specialised mental health support for those navigating the daily challenges of flare-ups, systemic reactions, and the emotional toll they take. 

The Emotional Rollercoaster

The unpredictability of triggers, the pain, itch and discomfort, and the impact on activities and even appearance can lead to anxiety, frustration, low mood, hopelessness, and a sense of isolation. As someone who understands this condition firsthand, I’m well positioned to help you with my tools.

Validation Without Judgment

Many people with chronic conditions feel dismissed or judged—by doctors, family, friends or even strangers. Even if well-meaning, it can feel like groundhog day. I offer a space where you can speak freely, be heard, and feel seen. That alone can help, when often the challenges are so hard to empathise with fully.

What Others Didn't See

People didn't understand how sitting on a hard chair would make me break out in hives. Or that at times I couldn’t even exercise because sweat triggered hives or even swollen eyes. Or the cold. Or the scarf to protect myself from the cold. Or the heat. Or the sun. Or the lack of vitamin D. Or simply it being the time of the month. 

The Complexity of Triggers

I’m sure you can add your own long list of known or suspected triggers. If sometimes even the medical professionals don't get it, how could anyone else? How many of us have been frustrated with being asked if we had changed the washing powder, or tried not to scratch? The words 'spontaneous' and 'idiopathic' cover the notion of 'I have no idea why!'

Medication and Its Limits

Medication can help, but it is disheartening when it doesn’t. Antihistamines, even at many times their normal dose, may not be enough. Depending on your country’s health system, there can be no protocol or years’ long waiting lists, or the costly immunosuppressant injections. I encorage you to work with medical professionals to treat you as the precious system that you are.

Breaking the Stress Cycle

It is stressful even just writing all this down, let alone live it. Of course, stress is a major trigger for chronic urticaria, as well as a consequence of living with it. So I work with clients to break the stress cycle. Let's explore what calm feels like in your body and how to access it more often, even in small ways. By reducing your stress levels, your body can reduce its response, and move towards relief.

Rebuilding Trust with Your Body

I also help you rebuild trust with your body. Through gentle somatic awareness and self-compassion practices, we work on reconnecting with the body—not as an enemy, but as a partner in healing. This shift can be powerful, especially for those who are at daily war with their body living and fighting their symptoms.

Relationships and Support

Chronic conditions can strain connections—with partners, friends, colleagues. Understanding and accommodating can be as simple as giving you the softer seat at work, cooking a low-histamine meal from scratch, or just letting you rant, then offering a gentle hug. I can help you navigate these dynamics, set boundaries, and communicate physical and emotional needs with clarity and confidence. 

Strength-Based Coaching

For those feeling stuck or hopeless, I offer strength-based coaching. Chronic urticaria may be part of your life right now, but it doesn’t have to define your identity. I can help you increase your agency, personal fulfillment, set goals to despite the limitations, and rediscover your capacity to thrive. We all have 'one wild and precious life', and deserve to live it the best way that we can.

Trauma-Informed Healing

As a trained and experienced trauma counsellor, I can also help you with possible underlying issues. In the words of Bessel van der Kolk, “the body keeps the score”. Your skin may be telling a story you may or may not even be conscious of. Trauma is often linked to chronic illness, causing prolonged stress responses which can lead to inflammation. The stress can also worsen that feedback loop. 

Living Well with Urticaria

Ultimately, my goal is to help you feel more emotionally equipped to live with chronic urticaria and angioedema. Not just to survive each day, but to live well alongside it. Breaking the vicious cycle of stress and symptoms can reduce symptoms. You can improve your quality of life and focus on more than just those awful itchy hives.

Ready to Begin?

If you're ready to explore personalised support for chronic urticaria and angioedema, book a consultation or learn more about my services. Let's work together to help you feel seen with and beyond your hives, feeling supported to live your life the best way that you can. Even the first small step can make a difference.