Stress induced skin issues

Stress is a part of everyday life.  It can cause all kinds of problems.  In fact, there are some stress induced skin issues that are hard to ignore.

Stress

Stress is all around – you can’t get away from it.  We feel stress when we get overwhelmed by life – whether it be too much pressure at work or too much pressure at home.  Our jobs need us to perform well and our families need us for everything from taking care of the kids (and parents) to taking care of the house.  It’s hard to juggle everything sometimes.

Stress isn’t good for us but sometimes it does help us to get things done.  If we never had anything to stress about, we’d probably never get anything done.  For example, if you knew that there was no deadline to a project, why would you even have to start it.  If it’s not that important to have a timeline, why should you bother with it?  I mean, it is good to have goals but the stress isn’t good for us.  So, really the only time it’s a problem is if we don’t manage the stress and make sure we take care of ourselves.

Stress induced skin issues

It begs the question though:  Can stress cause skin issues?  When we become stressed, you’ll start to see anxiety skin issues.  These anxiety skin symptoms can include any of the following:

• Picking skin
• Chewing the inside of your mouth
• Rubbing your eyes
• Always touching your face
• Nervous habits
• Bad habits

So, what are these skin conditions caused by stress?  Let me touch on each one of these separately:

Picking Skin / Always Touching your Face

When some people get nervous, they start to ‘pick’ and it could be they start picking their skin.  For example, a would or a pimple that has scabbed over.  If you pick at your skin, you are likely to get a scar and a scar on your face is not something you want.  I don’t even want to get into the fact that you are transferring dirt and other oils onto your face, which can cause more blemishes.  Stop touching your face!

Chewing the inside of mouth

I’m guilty of this one.  I have always been a bit on the anxious side so sometimes, when I’m nervous, I have caught myself chewing the inside of my mouth.  Ouch!  But, how does this turn into a skin problem.  Well – think about it, you are contorting your face in a way it’s not supposed to be.  It’s not relaxed so you are contributing to wrinkles.  Great, huh?

Eye Rubbing

I used to do this one all the time too!  I have since stopped because I didn’t realize when I was younger that the more I rub my eyes, the more I am breaking those very delicate capillaries in my eye area.  That leads to puffy, dark circles.  I don’t want to look like a raccoon!

Nervous Habits / Bad habits

With anxiety, you start getting nervous habits.  You are trying to control that anxiety so you start chewing gum or worse, smoking.  These habits lead to fine lines and wrinkles.

What to do?

Obviously, stress is here to stay but it’s how we handle and manage the stress that matters.  Sure, we get nervous ticks or habits.  It’s normal so don’t feel bad about it.  It is important, though, to deal with the stress.  If you are getting overwhelmed, it’s time for a break.  Stress kills your face and if we want to look timeless, it’s time to make some changes.  Whether it’s taking a walk, doing a meditation, mindfulness or just being aware of these habits (being aware is the first step to changing anything), if you want to feel happy and look healthy, it has to be a priority.