One of our Board-Certified Dermatologist, Dr. Annie Liu, was interviewed by Slice on the effects of anxiety on the skin.
Dr. Liu sheds light on how your anxiety can affect your immune system and, in turn, your skin health by releasing certain inflammatory signals that cause your skin to misbehave in the way they are prone to misbehaving. Even if you don't have an actual skin condition, dealing with more stress than usual for a significant amount of time might make your immune system hyperirritable, so something that doesn’t normally bother your skin can make it react for the first time.
Dr. Liu also discussed another factor in anxiety and skin which is how we behave when we’re stressed. If touching your face is your go-to nervous habit and you always break out in acne when you’re stressed, that may be less a function of your immune system, and more a result of you introducing whatever’s on your hands to your face. Acne in particular is very influenced by touching the face.
Many skin conditions are linked indirectly or directly to stress, including acne, psoriasis, eczema or rosacea.
Read the full story here: https://www.slice.ca/how-anxiety-ruined-my-skin-and-how-to-fix-it/