Stress Acne

Do you have stress acne?  It’s so common because stress is all around us and it’s so hard to get away from.  There’s just too much to do (or at least we feel like there is).

Stress

If you’re like me, you tend to feel like it all needs to be done right away!  You feel overwhelmed.  You feel alone – that there is no one to turn to – everyone is busy and no one has time for anything.  It becomes very hard to relax and unwind.  This is when we get stressed and then we get stress acne.  There’s obviously a problem.  Controlling our stress is important, whether it be work, family or financial, stress needs to be managed.

Stress acne

Stress isn’t exactly a cause acne but it does contribute to it.  If you are stressed and already have acne, it does seem to make it worse.

Many times when we are stressed, too much is happening and there is never enough time to “decompress”.  So, those stress hormones stay with us and it’s hard to feel “normal” or like “yourself”.  Because these stress hormones are always there, we can’t feel better.

What’s happening?

If you excessively worry, get scared or are continuously anxious, our bodies fight back with stress hormones.  That means increased blood pressure and heart rate.  This happens so we can divert blood to our legs so we can get away from the danger – the thing that is making us scared.  Our bodies produce more sugar (thanks to cortisol) to give us energy to run away.  Our breathing gets heavier, the heart rate goes up and our brains focus on what we need to do – i.e. get away.

The way we humans have evolved is just awesome but in modern times, this can be an issue if we don’t get rid of these hormones.  So, how do we decrease these stress levels?  Health.com even suggests meditating.

Stress is different for everyone and different things trigger it.  Many times, it is money problems, death of a family member or close friend, work stress, divorce, etc.  If you feel powerless to do anything about it, it makes a bad situation unbearable.  Then, depression sets in.

The best thing is to learn to reduce the stress you have.  It really can make a difference.  It can mean living or dying.  Plus, the cherry on top is that it can also help your skin.  Too much stress can cause wrinkles and even stress acne – yes, stress can cause acne.  Plus, when we’re stressed, we don’t eat well and we all know what bad eating habits can do to our skin!

In order to deal with the stress acne, eat well and hydrate with lots of water.  And, exfoliate!  Exfoliation will help to remove the dead skin cells that are hiding in crevices causing wrinkles to look worse and causing acne breakouts.  Exfoliate regularly and you will start to see brighter, more vibrant (less dull) looking skin – with fewer acne breakouts.  Good luck!