Does stress really affect our bodies, but most importantly... our acne? How can we lower the stress levels that we encounter day by day? It's really simple, but not so easy to do...
Whether or not stress really causes pimples or is still under speculation. But with trial and error, we are making some progress on what our emotions can do to us physically.
Anxiety can amplify acne in 2 ways:
- First being that it causes chemicals that aggravates the acne
- It also slows down the healing processes of the body. (And if you have acne scars, that's not a good thing)
Above the kidneys, the adrenal glands produce the hormones called norepinephrine and epinephrine. With stress giving rise to these hormones, the sebum is created in excess, which then results in more acne. If acne had a vicious cycle about it, then stress would be #1.
Now this applies to all types of stress, whether physical or emotional, but of course the emotional strain is a big factor to acne breakouts. As I mentioned above, psychological stress has a considerable impact on how well the body is able to heal itself. Have you ever heard of a professional athlete injuring himself badly, and when he was in rehab and followed all the procedures to attain a full recovery, his body just wouldn't heal?
Now that is very interesting, because he ate right, he had over enough rest; and he had physical therapy... but what was missing? When examining the athlete, it was easy to see that this person didn't want to get better! He had negative thoughts constantly, and he thought that he would never be able to return to the game he loved. But with counselling and training himself to think positively... this athlete's recovery just took off. This was due to the fact that his body was ready, but as soon as his mind was also... together, the mind and the body worked as one. Based on the facts: Negative emotions can reduce the speed of the body's recovery up to 41%! So if the external remedies are giving you minimal results, it could be because your mind is stressed.
How to Develop a Positive Mindset that Will Help Your Body Rid Itself of Acne