Stress & Skin Health

Can my stress be impacting my skin?

Skin health is something many of our patients are interested in, whether it’s a chronic itchy eczema, or acne that seems to pop up right when we don’t want it. One factor that might be impacting our skin more than we realize is stress.

Stress is a real physiological process in our body: meaning we undergo stress, our nervous system, our hormones and multiple parts of our body react. It’s not just an emotion or feeling that passes.

This system is designed to keep us safe, and help us respond to our stressors, and like anything, a little bit is actually good for us! It keeps us vigilant if we are in an unsafe circumstance, and it often shows us we have things we care about at stake. However, chronically activated stress responses that we don’t “turn off” can impact many areas of our health - including our skin.

How?

Well our skin actually has its own stress axis, that functions similar to the one that runs through our nervous system. Our skin has a lot of immune function that helps repair and protect the barrier of our skin. When we are stressed, our skin stress system impacts this immune function through altering the levels of hormones, immune cells and even how quickly our skin barrier can recover.

This goes a long with the finding that many common skin concerns are exacerbated by stress. Managing stress often involves taking a look at the many areas of our health that might be playing a role. Our stress can be tied to our mental-emotional health, physical health, sleep, and life circumstances.

Working with a team of practitioners can help support you with the tools, supplements and social support to navigate stress and promote overall resilient health - skin and otherwise. Book a call with one of our practitioners today to explore how we can support you.