Academic anxiety can exacerbate dermatological conditions
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Even if you don’t wear your heart on your sleeve, your skin can betray your mental state.
“There is a very strong connection between the brain and the skin, and the connection between stress and skin diseases,” he says. Gil Yosipovich at the University of Miami, Florida. This is evident, he says, in his encounters with patients: “I always ask, for example, does something make you itch more? And many patients will tell you it’s stress.” This observation is also verified in clinical studies.
On a physiological level, it’s all about hormones. Psychological stress, whether chronic or acute, causes our body to produce hormones called glucocorticoids, which keep us more alert and give us energy for the fight or flight response in dangerous situations. But they also damage the skin in two ways.
Acne and eczema caused by anxiety
First, they can reduce the functioning of the epidermis. This top layer of skin locks in moisture and serves as the first layer of defense between our body and the environment. Constantly high levels of some of these hormones, such as cortisol, can cause inflammation. Second, glucocorticoids reduce the production of antimicrobial proteins in the skin.
The combined effect is dry or inflamed skin that is prone to infection and heals more slowly, leading to increased susceptibility to clinical skin conditions. “There is a direct link between stress and the tendency to get sick,” he says Peter Elias at the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco
In A review of 21 studiesYosipovich…
