You may not know it, but our skin is an external organ. If it’s traumatised in any way on the outside, it can lead to permanent scarring. In the same way, when you’re feeling stressed or anxious, it can also have an effect on your skin. It can wreak havoc on your skin health and your complexion, which can also make you feel self-conscious. Want to know why this is happening to you and what you can do about it? Here are some of the ways in which your skin can reveal the turmoil of your daily life.
Skin Rashes From Stress
Conditions such as eczema can flare up when a person is particularly stressed or overwhelmed. Patches of dry, itchy, irritable skin can appear anywhere on your body. This in itself can cause you to stress even more, especially if it’s somewhere visible. Psoriasis is a similar condition, it causes sore, irritated, scaly patches of skin. Thankfully, eczema and psoriasis can be treated with cream from the doctor. The conditions can both also improve when you stop feeling so stressed.
Anxiety Can Be Linked to Scarring
There are certain tic behaviours that can be damaging to your skin, such as picking your skin/acne and pulling your hair. Such actions are usually repeated as a result of anxiety. If someone with anxiety feel particularly nervous or agitated, they’re more likely to pick at their skin as a form of comfort. It may also be a completely subconscious movement. People who cause their own blading by pulling out their own hair suffer from trichotillomania. It’s suggested that between 0.6-3.6% of adults suffer from this disorder.
Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Repeated facial movements can cause wrinkles such as crows feet, laughter lines and forehead lines. While this is generally seen as an inevitable result of ageing, they can be brought on prematurely. Years of stressful situations can catch up on you, meaning you develop some fine lines and wrinkles earlier than others. Cosmetic surgeons up and down the country have been offering treatments to tackle this. Certain aesthetic clinic Manchester treatments are also non-surgical so they’re not overly intrusive.
Dark Circles Through Lack of Sleep
We all know that not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to your health. Even the smallest stressful situations can play on your mind and impact the quality of your night’s sleep. If you often struggle to get to sleep, or stay asleep for a sufficient amount of time, you’re likely to develop dark circles or bags under your eyes. Your skin also repairs while you’re asleep, so it can cause your skin to look dull and dry.
To help this, moisturising with a caffeine-based solution can tighten the area, making it appear brighter and less swollen. However, no cream is as beneficial as getting a great night’s sleep. Before you sleep at the end of the day, try writing down everything that’s troubling you. This will make you feel like you’ve cleared your mind, allowing for a more peaceful sleep.