We all know that stress plays a very destructive role in damaging our health. In many cases, stress has been declared the number one cause for many diseases. Stress has also been the number one cause for aggravating already existing skin conditions. These include acne, wrinkles, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes. So, stress and skin are closely related.
In my article, 5 Effective and Proven Ways to Control Effects of Stress on Face, I discussed how meditation, a balanced diet, and deep breathing can help you with your stress and consequently with stress-related skin problems. But here I would discuss whether stress and anxiety are truly connected with skin disorders?
I never used to believe it till I got to experience it myself. As a teenager, I always had acne breakouts and my skin used to be so dull. I tried everything available on the market to get the ugly marks off my face but nothing worked. My skin condition deteriorated more with the passage of time. I started observing the pattern with which my skin got worse. I noticed that whenever I stressed out more about anything, I got ugly acne breakouts. That was the time I started to believe that stress does take a toll on your skin. For a healthy skin, you need to live a stress free life by bringing more positivity and letting go of anxiety and stress causing factors.
How Does Stress Affect Our Skin?
I will discuss here what stress actually does and how it can affect the skin because we have already established that stress and skin are closely related. When a person is under stress, the nervous system prepares the body for the action to counter it. It releases stress hormones with adrenaline and cortisol which rouses the body. The muscles tighten up, blood pressure rises and senses become sharper. This whole process takes a toll on the body. It makes the organs weaker and damages the overall health. As skin is the most sensitive part of the body, it gets under pressure more easily.
Skin conditions like psoriasis, rosacea, acne and eczema are highly aggravated by stress. These are serious skin conditions which need complete attention and medical treatment. Read more on this topic here: Why Acne is No Longer a Teen Problem.
Not only stress but also lack of sleep can take a toll on your skin causing it to appear dull and void of color and freshness. We tend to lose sleep because of stress. It has been found that stress and anxiety can even cause scarring because when we are under stress, we develop tic behaviors, such as picking at our skin. If this behavior that is associated with stress, is not controlled on time, it may even lead to permanent skin problems. According to many dermatologists, stress can cause flare-ups and worsen skin conditions that already exist.
It is important to control your stress levels in order to avoid these skin problems. Keep in mind that if stress goes uncontrolled for long duration of time, it also causes your hair to fall out. So, one problem leads to another and before you know it, you’re in a deep deep mess. Live a stress-free life and follow the tips to control effects of stress on face and also take proteins to help with hair growth.
