Too Much Stress Can Mess With Your Skin
One of the five sense-organs of a human body, the skin is the interface of our body with its nature. It not only acts as a receptor for every physical stimulus in our environment but also as an expresser of the physiological responses. In short, skin, the largest organ plays a fundamental role in our very existence. The lines and wrinkles of skin have helped humankind communicate since even before they invented language. But this communiqué is not limited to facial expressions and wounds; our skin starts showing the signs of mental stress equally profoundly in several different ways. Stress and skin have an intricate relationship and chronic stress may lead to our skin conditions going astray.
The twenty-first century has rapidly changed the lifestyle demands of the urban population. Holding the ground for the families of society to flourish, the challenges for young women have multiplied accordingly. Carrying the onus of several full-time roles hand in hand makes them overburdened, such as racing through their career, taking care of elderly, playing a wife, looking after kids, managing livelihood, and fulfilling social responsibilities to name a few. Such rollercoaster of a lifestyle may often take a toll on their stress levels giving rise to several physiological complications. While the symptoms that demand immediate attention such as fever, flu, etc. are taken seriously and treated, we are not much concerned about our skin.
Stress releases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline into our system. The high levels of cortisol in our body may shut down the functions that divert its efforts towards managing stress. When our brain is on overdrive, it can compromise with our immune system and skin`s protective abilities causing inflammatory responses such as hives, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis flare-up, seborrheic dermatitis, and even acne. Individuals predisposed to these conditions are more prone to fall prey to them. Further, with our body`s defence down, our skin becomes more vulnerable when it is in contact with increasing levels of pollution in our atmosphere. Pollution can have severe effects on our skin such as, ageing and damaging the DNA of our skin cells to cause mutation.
Stress inflammation is fought best by eliminating its cause. It is difficult to find the exact reason behind stress, but it can be tamed by healthy food habits, exercising, therapy and taking care of ourselves. You should not neglect your skin even if you are tired or stressed. Make time for yourself to do something you enjoy, such as reading a book, playing, or listening to a song, even if it is for a few minutes. Talk to people and get seven to eight hours of sound sleep. Set boundaries around you and don`t make promises that are difficult to fulfil. Stress can happen to anyone, but since we can`t always evade our responsibilities, the best thing to do is to learn to manage it.
