Link Between Stress and Skin Conditions Established

Yardley, Pennsylvania-based dermatologist and clinical psychologist Richard G. Fried, MD, PhD, FAAD, says that the severity of certain skin conditions can be reduced if sufferers manage their stress levels more efficiently.

A link between emotion intensity and skin diseases has been proposed a long time ago, but thus far investigators have only been able to collect circumstantial evidence of how this connection works.

While holding a presentation at the American Academy of Dermatology’s Summer Academy, the expert said that it's entirely possible stress leads to a vicious circle in which skin conditions develop as a result of too much negative emotions.

At the same time, suffering from a skin condition – especially if it affects the face or other areas of the body that are usually exposed – is very likely to stress people out even more. As such, the two continue to feed each other, with extremely detrimental effects to patients.

This line of though is supported by studies showing that chronic inflammatory skin condition such as rosacea, acne and psoriasis tend to flare up when a person goes through a very stressful experience.

“In terms of how stress can exacerbate or even initiate a skin condition, we are talking about distress, such as feelings of anger, anxiety, depression or tension, and how these emotional states translate to physiological problems,” the researcher said.

“Stress is personal, so what might be stressful for one person may be a non-stressor or even exhilarating for someone else,” Fried added, saying that he favors a combined approach to improve patients' physical and emotional well-being.

Previous investigations have uncovered that stress is responsible for the release of inflammation-causing chemicals known as neuropeptides in the body. These substances can also cause numbness, itching and tingling, alongside a host of other uncomfortable skin sensations, PsychCentral reports.

“In my practice, I find that patients with chronic skin conditions tend to withdraw from normal, everyday activities and sometimes ‘shut down’ emotionally, which can really impact their personal lives,” Fried told the audience.

As such, fighting stress is shaping up to be one of the most promising avenues of research when it comes to fighting chronic skin conditions. What remains to be determined is how to include this knowledge in viable therapies.