How does stress impact rosacea?
Stress can have an enormous impact on the skin, so I'm sharing what you need to know, including ways to reduce the effects
Stress is a common rosacea trigger and is (annoyingly) unavoidable. No matter how well you manage your triggers, or how meticulously you care for your skin, stress will inevitably pop up and try to undo all of your hard work.
So I wanted to share some information on the effect of stress on your skin - both physically and psychologically - along with some tips and tricks that you can utilise to gain control over your stress.
Stress and the impact on the skin
A few years ago I attended the Skin Matters Conference and learned so much from the roster of speakers. One of the most interesting talks was Dr Susannah Baron, a consultant dermatologist, talking about the connection between the mind and the skin.
This is something that has been obvious to me since I was first diagnosed with rosacea, as stress is by far my biggest trigger. For me it shows up as increased redness and sensitivity, dull, tight, flaky skin with an increase in fine lines.
But not only that, stress also slows down your skin barrier recovery (and, as we know from THIS article, rosacea often means an already compromised skin barrier). So now your skin is damaged and unhappy and it takes longer to heal.
In times of stress, the last thing you want to be thinking about is your skin, so it’s important to understand what’s going on in both your brain and your skin, so that you can tackle the cause as well as the symptoms.
How does stress show up in the body?
For some people, stress will result in an outbreak of spots (caused by the cortisol produced by stress creating a shift in your hormones), while some people come out in hives or a rash (due to dysbiosis, an upset in the good and bad bacteria in your gut), and others may find they can’t stop itching, or picking (otherwise known as ‘tic behaviours’).
The problem is that the mind/skin connection is a never ending cycle. You experience stress (for whatever reason) and your body senses a threat and your neuropeptides get busy, relaying information between your mind and body, telling it how to feel and act.
This is what makes us sweat, shake, and immediately need the loo when we are scared or feel stressed: it’s the body’s way of preparing us for fight or flight. Cortisol makes us breathe quicker, raises our blood pressure, and makes our heart beats faster.
And all of those these things are not good for those of us who already flush easily! Because now you’re in a situation where your body’s natural way of trying to protect you causes you irritation and then - surprise, surprise! - this irritation causes stress. The stress causes a flare up… which in turn causes more stress… which worsens the flare up… and on and on it goes. Your brain and your body are essentially feeding off each other’s stress signals.
How to minimise the impact of stress on the skin?
Whenever I talk about the psychological impact of rosacea, I always remind people that our brain is an incredibly powerful organ. We think of rosacea as being a physical issue, one that responds to physical solutions (e.g. skincare, medication, skin treatments). But that ignores the huge part that our brains play in the management of rosacea.
When I’m stressed, sad, scared, or embarrassed, it is written all over my face. That is my brain sending alerts to my body, resulting in a physical manifestation of those emotions. So, it stands to reason that if the brain can negatively impact the skin, that same brain can be used to reverse that impact.
Put simply, you can use your brain to reduce the negative symptoms and even help build resilience to help you and your skin in the future.
And the best part is that all of the stress-busting tips below are free and accessible to everyone. Yes, they require a little more time and thought than slapping a bit of moisturiser on, but in the long-run they are going to build a really solid foundation for your skin management.
So, how can you break the pesky stress cycle? There are a few things I’ve learned from experts over the years that may help. These aren’t ground-breaking or surprising stress-reduction tips, but I know that sometimes people need reminders of the small things to help them through the day.
Personally, I find it comforting to remember that I have control over my stress levels and that often they can be helped with a few minutes of focus. I hope these tips help you too.
Belly breathing
Belly breathing is a fantastic way to calm yourself, whether you’re nervous, stressed or scared. I do this on flights and before events where I feel apprehensive about talking to new people. It’s really simple and doesn’t take very long:
Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach
Breathe deeply in through your nose, feeling your belly rise (your chest shouldn’t move)
When you breathe out, purse your lips as though you were whistling. Feel all the air leave your body as your belly falls with your hand on top of it
Do this 10 times, concentrating on your stomach ‘filling’ and ’emptying’.
Stretch
This tip may sound too simple to have any kind of impact, but I promise you it really helps. If I spend too long hunching over a laptop, staring down at my phone, and spending less time outside, I definitely notice an increase in the amount of stress I hold in my body. So I set aside some time every day to stretch and check in with myself.
Below are some simple stress-relieving stretches you can do pretty much anywhere and with no equipment:
Child’s pose – One of the most famous yoga poses and one that even “the most unflexible person I’ve ever seen” (yes, that’s a direct quote from my physio!) can do.
Neck rotation – Quick and easy to do at your desk, this is great for those days when you feel like you can’t take a proper break.
Cat Camel – This is one of my favourite stretches (is that a weird thing to say…?) It really helps with the stiff back and neck from desk-working.
Full body stretch – The classic! Stand up straight, reach your hands as far into the air as you can, stand on your tip toes, wiggle your fingers, look up and breathe deeply. Try to be aware of each part of your body stretching in turn.
Yoga
I’ve tried so hard to get into practising yoga regularly (and the closest I got was Yoga With Adriene: a whole channel of free yoga workouts if you want to take a look) but I think I’m just an inherently lazy person! However, yoga is something that has been proven to reduce stress, lower heart rate, and make you more aware of your body. These are all things that are helpful to those with a skin condition.
Try these poses at home, chosen specifically for their stress-busting benefits. Don’t worry if you can’t do them perfectly at first and don’t push yourself too hard. Not being able to touch your knee with your nose shouldn’t be another cause of stress!
Guided visualisation
Bear with me, because this sounds a bit woo-woo! But alongside traditional medication and therapies, many dermatologists now ‘prescribe’ guided visualisation.
In the simplest terms, you imagine the way you want to look or feel in your mind, and really focus on it. Ideally, you are supposed to do this every day for about 10 minutes, even if you’re not experiencing a flare up. The idea is to practice, to build that muscle, so that when you do need it you are prepared.
Just before I go to sleep, I lie down, close my eyes, and try to picture my face as it looks when I have a rosacea flare up, thinking about the sensations that come along with it (e.g. heat, tightness, itching). I then imagine my skin starting to feel cool, as though someone is trickling cool water over my head. I focus on how that feels: the heat leaving my skin and the slow soothing feeling. I picture how it looks: the redness fading as the cool feeling seeps down my face.
Dr Baron said that a great technique with children is getting them to pretend they’re a character from Harry Potter (non-TERFy cultural reference points are also available) and to picture aiming a wand and casting a spell on their psoriasis, eczema, rosacea etc.
These are very simple forms of meditation and can be a useful addition to your rosacea management plan. I’ve done guided visualisation on the London underground, on planes, in bathrooms… and it really helps me to calm my breathing, I felt less hot and my skin felt calmer. The brain is a powerful tool – if it has the power to make your skin worse, why not harness it to make your skin better?
Positive affirmations
While we’re talking about rerouting your brain to work with you rather than against you, we should talk about positive affirmations. If you haven’t heard of them I have a whole blog post on my old website on how they work and why they can be so useful for those of us who struggle with our appearance.
My personal favourite is ‘I have survived every single flare up. This one is no different. It will pass. I’m doing everything I can to minimise this flare up. I am fine.’ I say it out loud or just in my head, depending on where I am!
Meditation
I know that meditation isn’t for everyone but if you’ve been avoiding it because you think that meditation has to be cross-legged-chanting-over-panpipes I’m here to set your mind at ease. I really like both the Headspace app or the Calm app. Taking a few minutes each day to truly focus on yourself can be transformative, and I’m saying that as someone who used to roll her eyes at the very mention of meditation!
Do you notice the effect stress has on your skin? How does it manifest itself with you? Do you have any tips for stress reduction? Please share them in the comments so everyone can learn together!
So many great pointers here Lex, meditation, visualisations, belly breathing. I’m sure they could also be used to help when my anxiety starts to spiral. Thank you.