It is the skin that visibly responds to psychic influences and exhibits it spontaneously. Bottled up emotions always try hard to find a vent and as long as they are inside, they will attempt to make their way out of our body by giving rise to various symptoms. We may not realise, but majority of our problems stem from unresolved emotional experiences. There exists a physical connection between emotions and the skin and hence the constant struggle to be better than the best may only aggravate the skin problems.
The cause
Problems that result due to emotional imbalance are:
Pruritis or itching
Itching in severe form, causes lot of discomfort. It also leads to loss of sleep, depression, and anxiety. Frustration pile up is usually noticed with unavoidable and uncontrollable forms of itching.
Acne or psoriasis
Youngsters who often complain about acne and pimple problems are mostly unaware of one of the contributing factors to it. Stress-induced factors such as anxiety, fear, low self-esteem, depression and a variety of other internalised emotions trigger chemical reactions inside the body that cause acne flare-ups.
Neurodermatitis
Severe itching and scratching is a symptom of neurodermatitis. It is a skin condition that can cause the affected skin to become thick and leathery in texture [elephant-like]. Nervous tension or any stress on the nerve cells aggravates this form of itching.
Dermatitis artefacta
It refers to lesions of the skin incurred in the process of physical scratching. People with dermatitis artefacta usually have an underlying psychological problem and can be caused by stress and drugs.
Atopic dermatitis
It is the long-lasting, itchy inflammation of the upper layers of the skin that often develops in people reporting problems of hay fever or asthma. Many conditions like changes in temperature, bacterial skin infections including emotional stress can make atopic dermatitis worse.
The solution
Taking the key feelings out of your skin and into your mind, heart, and actions is the essence of treatment for most people. Significant recommendations are:
- Relaxation
- Biofeedback
- Self-hypnosis or psychotherapy
- Medical examination by a qualified consultant. This may include visual examination of skin, blood test or skin biopsy
- Psychodermatology, an emerging medical practice, aims at linking dermatology with psychiatry in hope of finding the best solution for these mind-skin troubles.