Have you ever noticed how your skin begins to glow when you are happy? To put it simply, when you feel good from the inside, it is clearly reflected on your skin. Inner happiness and mental poise are those primary things that play an important role to develop greater self-esteem, overall well-being, and a positive attitude. Not only but also, when your mind is not overburdened with negative emotions, your skin repairs and rejuvenates itself. Haward medical school has published a study demonstrating the relationship between your brain and skin. Similarly, many other research studies have pointed out that skin concerns like acne, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, and psoriasis can actually get aggravated by mental stress. Much to your surprise, some researchers have suggested that stress can also increase the signs of melasma, dark patches, and skin discolorations on your face. Don't be afraid, we are here to help you and make you understand all aspects that are important to achieve your skincare goals.
What is psychodermatology?
Many scientific evidences have figured out that in many cases people experienced stress and anxiety before the manifestation of skin concerns. Psychodermatology is an emerging branch of dermatology that involves psychiatry and dermatology for the treatment of skin disorders. Psychiatry focuses on the invisible trigger (your mental health) that worsens your skin diseases. Whereas, dermatology helps to treat the visible signs of diseases appearing on your skin and hair.
Common types of psychodermatologic disorders
- Acne
- Atopic dermatitis or eczema
- Psoriasis
1. Acne
A research study published in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology has evaluated the relationship between stress and acne. In this study, an increase in acne severity was observed in students having higher stress and anxiety levels. During stressful conditions, your body has elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines and stress hormones which stimulate the overproduction of sebum in the skin. These high sebum levels lead to clogged pores which ultimately manifest into painful pimples. Dermatologists reveal that patients who get acne scars after acne healing experience a negative emotional state of mind. How to cope up with acne scarring become the biggest challenge for such individuals.
2. Atopic dermatitis or eczema
The National Eczema Association has revealed that approximately 30% of people with atopic dermatitis were diagnosed with depression. Dermatologists explain that stress and anxiety are the major triggers of itchy inflammatory skin conditions like eczema. In stress, your body's immune system gets suppressed and inflammatory response increases which gives rise to redness, itching, and sensitive skin. It has been seen that people with sensitive skin are more susceptible to inflammatory diseases. That's why it is imperative to avoid emotional stress while dealing with eczema or atopic dermatitis. Dermatologists explain that stress management and barrier repair creams are quite effective to repair atopic skin.
3. Psoriasis
Stress and psoriasis are strongly interlinked with each other. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is characterized by red, itchy, and scaly patches on your skin and scalp area. Psychological stress has been identified as the biggest trigger of psoriasis. Along with physical pain, this skin concern impairs the quality of life by implicating feelings of low esteem, poor self-image, and ingratitude.
Self-love - a secret of skin healing
After understanding the psychological aspects of skin conditions, it is very clear that a healthy mind is important to attain healthy and beautiful skin. You must be wondering how to find inner peace and happiness within yourself? The answer is very simple, start embracing who you really are. Give a rest to your inner critic, accept and love all things about yourself that you have been perceiving as your flaws and shortcomings. Start your day with a big smile and a good skin regimen to shine from the inside out.
