Looking At The Link Between Stress And Eczema

For many people suffering with the skin condition eczema, emotional stress can be their worst enemy. You may have noticed how your eczema worsens during times of emotional pressure like going on a job interview or dealing with domestic issues in your home. Just the stress associated with eczema outbreaks can be unhealthy, so the additional pressure from emotional issues can create havoc that shows up on your skin.

How Does Your Skin Know You Are Stressed Out?

Your body's response to stressing circumstances involves several fast occurring incidents, one being an increase in skin inflammation as a way to protect it from the incoming effects of the stress you are dealing with. However, when you are already suffering with a skin condition like eczema, increased levels of inflammation in response to stress can cause the condition to become worse.

What If It Is Your Eczema Stressing You Out?

In some cases, external stress does not have to be high for you to experience worsening stress related eczema. If you are embarrassed about your skin condition, even the smallest issue can suddenly create a lot of stress. For example, if you are out with friends and everyone decides to go swimming, you may experience high stress and worry about putting on a swimsuit in front of everyone. Because of these kinds of circumstances, you may avoid social encounters. If you do not go out in social settings because of your eczema, consider the additional health risks of being anti-social and depressed.

What Came First? The Stress Or The Eczema?

Some eczema sufferers may have never experienced their first outbreak until they were under some sort of high stress. Stress-induced eczema is common and can cause skin reactions that are itchy, dry and red. For some people, dealing with the stress is all it takes to gain control over their eczema outbreak. However, in many cases, emotional or physical stress can be long term, thus causing eczema to hang around longer as well. If you are suffering with your first eczema outbreak, consider any type of stress you are dealing with at the moment. Getting stress under control will allow you to also control your skin problems.

Learning the ways you can better control the stress in your life is important to maintain your good health. Your entire body, including your skin, can suffer great damage from stress, especially when you are under a lot of it and not managing it properly. For more information about eczema treatment, contact Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center PS or a similar organization.


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