In an emergency, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or call 911. For confidential treatment referrals, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ) website, or call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP(4357). Just be sure to address both your physical problem and your mental health so that you can get to a place where you feel the best you can.Įditor's Note: If you or someone you know is seeking help for mental health concerns, visit the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) website, or call 1-800-950-NAMI(6264). If you've been struggling with anxiety, it's definitely not a good time to also have to worry about a skin issue.
Consult with a mental health professional to identify stress-relief tactics that work for you, whether that means starting a daily meditation practice, taking up a new physical activity, or keeping a journal. The best acne treatment for you can vary based on a number of factors, such as your skin type, but addressing your anxiety can help your skin calm down. "Cortisol will increase the skin's oil production through the testosterone pathway and can increase pimples," she says. They occur when the deeper layers of the skin. Sandy Skotnicki, a consultant dermatologist who's an expert in skin irritants and author of Beyond Soap, tells Bustle. Pockmarks, which are also called pick marks or acne scars, are blemishes with a concave shape that can look like holes or indentations in the skin. "Acne is the best example where stress from anxiety can release cortisol," Dr. Here is how anxiety can show up on your skin, according to experts.
They'll be able to help you find strategies for coping with your anxiety so that your skin issues can also subside. Although it's important to go to a dermatologist for help managing a skin condition, it's also crucial that you get help from a mental health profession to address the root cause - your anxiety. Fortunately, there are professionals who can help you deal with not only your skin problem, but your anxiety issue as well. "The reason has to do a lot with how we deal with stress and anxiety," he says. Richard Torbeck, a board-certified dermatologist with Advanced Dermatology PC, who has extensive experience in oncologic and cosmetic dermatology, tells Bustle. "Skin and anxiety are inextricably linked," Dr. Depending on how severe your anxiety is, you might notice more hair falling out than usual, a skin rash that won't go away, or even areas of your skin losing color, according to experts.Įven though you might think of anxiety as mental and your skin health as physical, they actually connect quite a bit. But you might not expect that anxiety affects your skin in a number of ways too.
If you're struggling with anxiety, you might assume that you'll only notice a difference in how you feel.