Stress Free Mama

By ;

Stress Acne: Reduce Inflammation for Prevention and Treatment

Stress acne is a symptom of a taxed immune system. To clear your skin, reduce inflammation through diet and other natural methods.

Like the rest of your body, your skin’s health can be affected by your stress level.  If you suffer from stress acne, you have undoubtedly discovered this for yourself.  Pimples seem to pop up overnight when you feel yourself overwhelmed.  Topical acne treatments may control your symptoms, but they can’t cure the problem.  This kind of acne is more than skin deep and preventing or curing it must be holistic–centered on your whole system, rather than merely targeting symptoms.

Stress and your Immune System

High Stress = Excess Inflammation

Inflammation is the primary physical cause of acne, although excess skin oil also plays a role.  Stress affects your health by causing inflammation throughout your body.

Stressed business womanWhen you are under stress, your body secretes stress hormones, including cortisol.  Cortisol and the other stress hormones travel through your blood stream signaling your blood vessels to dilate and your blood pressure to rise.  These changes prepare you to meet the stress and they are called the “fight or flight” response.

Unfortunately, our modern day stresses are generally long-term and cannot be dealt with through fighting or fleeing.  Chronic stress means that your stress hormones will be nearly continuously released.  One effect of continual stress hormones is that your immune system never shuts down.  It acts as if you are under continual attack from outside invaders (for example bacteria or viruses).  This immune system “overdrive” is inflammation and is a typical result of chronic stress.

Your immune system helps your body fight unwanted invaders, but too much response, inflammation, does not help your body deal with stress.

  • Inflammation of the blood vessels and arteries contributes to hardening of the arteries and heart disease.
  • Inflammation of the digestive tract contributes to digestive problems and inflammation of the air ways contributes to asthma and other respiratory problems.
  • Inflammation of the skin results in stress acne and other stress-induced skin conditions like hives and psoriasis.

Diet for Stress Acne:  Reduce Inflammation

The link between stress and inflammation is complex and yet to be clearly understood.  However, researchers have determined that diet plays a role in the inflammation process.  The Western diet, which is generally rich in refined sugars and other processed foods has been linked to increased inflammation and to acne.

Foods with refined sugars are high on the glycemic index; in others words, they trigger your body’s insulin (blood sugar) level to quickly rise.  A high insulin level puts your immune system on alert, triggering the inflammation response.

A diet rich in complex carbohydrates and omega-3 fatty acids can help you avoid this pitfall and improve your overall health.   Avoid refined sugars and stay away from junk food.  Eat whole grains and foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as cold-water fish (salmon, herring, and trout), nuts and flaxseed.  Getting adequate lean protein will help keep your blood sugar levels balanced.

Chocolate and Acne??

The connection between a poor diet and acne gives some credence to the notion that certain foods cause acne.  Over the years, various foods, including chocolate and milk have been linked with acne.  Researchers are certain that coca, the main ingredient in chocolate, does not cause acne; however, the extra ingredients of that chocolate bar–refined sugar and milk, may cause a problem.

Refined sugar helps trigger the immune response, leading to inflammation.  Milk also seems to lead to inflammation in some people.  Casein the protein found in dairy products produces an allergic response in many people; the immune system reacts by trying to fight the perceived toxin and excess inflammation is produced.  The hormones in milk have also been linked to acne.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Chinese traditional medicine also recognizes the connection between diet and acne, as well as between the emotions and acne.  Emotional strain or improper diet can lead to the stagnation of qi, the vital life force (energy) flowing through your body.  Chinese practitioners recommend eating cleansing foods and keeping well-hydrated to help promote the flow of qi.  Cleansing foods include: watermelon, squash, pear, broccoli, cucumber, winter melon, cabbage, celery, beet tops, dandelions, seaweed, aloe vera, carrot tops, cherries, papaya, persimmons, buckwheat, brown rice, millet, and mung beans.

Another Chinese remedy: pearl powder.  Pearl powder is made from sea pearls is used on the skin to promote skin health.

Sunlight for Stress Acne

In recent years laser light treatments have proven useful in treating acne.  This success does not surprise naturopathic healers who have long advocated sunlight for acne.  Exposure to sunlight is necessary for your body to produce vitamin D, which is vital for calcium absorption and also plays a role in fighting inflammation.

Experts say that fifteen minutes of sun exposure before you put on any sunscreen is healthy, not harmful.  Try to get the morning sun; the atmosphere offers the most protection against harmful ultraviolet rays in the morning.   A little sun can ease depression, and stress and give you healthier skin; it can even lower your blood pressure.  Just remember not to over do it; sunburning is not healthy for your skin or the rest of your body.

So if you have stress acne explore the many alternative ways to treat it.  Don’t assume that acne must be a fact of life.  Eliminating stress acne means you have one less stress to cope with.

By ;

The Effects of Stress

Business woman showing the effects of stress.When you are under stress, the effects of stress seem immediate in your body. Your neck gets tense, you get a headache, and you can’t sleep.

But this is just the surface. Inside your body, the hormones released under chronic stress begin a cycle of destruction on your tissues which leads to illness and disease. Heart disease, digestion difficulties, high blood pressure and lowered immunity are just some of the conditions which are associated with chronic stress.

Moving outside your body, stress impacts your role as mother by creating anxiety and impatience. Brain fog, irritability and exhaustion are all effects of stress. And of course, these same symptoms affect your work, and your marriage.

I first understood the effects of chronic stress when I realized that I was yelling at my children unfairly. I was extremely harsh and unyielding; I gave crazy punishments for very small upsets.

I had started a health program using essential oils and other supplements to improve my eyesight but when my body began to heal, the yelling stopped. It was only then that I realized that stress had been a monster puppeteer which directed me to do and say things which I didn’t mean.

I also discovered how effective essential oil were in healing my body and balancing my moods from the effects of stress.

Stress taxes marriages, family relations, employment and all social interaction. And one researcher who has found that stress in a pregnant mothers can increase the likelihood of asthma in her unborn baby, calls stress a “poison”.

Find out about the effects of stress, but don’t stop there. When you have convinced yourself that you need to stop fighting life, go on the Thoughts of Stress-free Living, and Yoga sections. Find ways to reduce your stress permanently and bring peace back to your life.

As a mother, you must be healthy in your body, heart and soul. Many people rely on you and taking care of yourself is gift to yourself and to them.

Stress and Health

Acne:

Insomnia:

High Blood Pressure:

  • Stress and High Blood Pressure: Is it inevitable to end up with hypertension if you have stress? And how do you relieve the high blood pressure naturally?

Asthma:

  • Asthma and Stress: Asthma and Stress can cycle together, each making the other worse. Learn how to improve your symptoms naturally and breathe easy.

Hair:

Sore Muscles:

Digestion:

Stress and Relationships

By ;

Does Stress Cause Acne?

Western and Eastern Medicine agree that stress does cause acne. The imbalances that result from stress contribute to stress acne.

Woman with stress acneDoes stress cause acne?

The harried mom struggling to get her kids to half-a-dozen activities in different locations, who experiences acne for the first time in her life, would certainly agree that stress plays a role in acne.  So would the teen whose face breaks out in horrible zits the day before her school play.

Practitioners of traditional Eastern medicine have long connected emotional imbalance with acne and Western researchers now have strong evidence that stress plays a major role in triggering the hormones implicated in acne.

The Western Perspective

For decades, the Western perspective focused on acne’s physical causes. Despite the observations of many patients, the idea that stress played a role in acne and other skin disorders was mostly ignored.

Fortunately, Western healers are now increasingly realizing that there is a mind-skin connection and that stress can cause acne.

This new perspective has been coupled with research into the physical aspects of stress.  Recent studies have shown that teens experience more acne when under stress than at other times

Your body reacts to stress by releasing stress hormones, including cortisol.   Cortisol triggers inflammation in your entire system, including your skin and it also can trigger the production of more skin oil.

Inflammation is a far greater factor in acne than skin oil is.  An improper diet, too rich in refined sugars and processed foods, contributes to inflammation and makes it more difficult for your body to cope with stress.  Acne is not prevalent in countries where the average diet is low in refined sugars and processed food.

Does Stress Cause Acne?  The Eastern Perspective

Ayurvedic Medicine:

Traditional Eastern perspectives also see diet as a factor in overall health, but they focus on the whole person, concentrating on emotional imbalances as well as physical ones.  According to traditional Ayurvedic medicine, which has been practiced in India for 5,000 years, each person has three basic energies or doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha.  Each person is a unique combination of these doshas and imbalance in the doshas leads to illness.

Stress, relationship problems, diet and environmental factors unbalance the doshas and lead to health problems, including acne. Ayurvedic practitioners treat acne and other health problems by attempting to restore balance to the doshas.  Yoga, meditation, dietary changes, and herbal supplements are part of the Ayurvedic treatment of acne.

Traditional Chinese Medicine:

A similar approach is used in traditional Chinese medicine.  In Chinese medicine, acne is considered to be caused by disturbances to the body’s meridians by heat or damp heat. These imbalances can be produced by diet, overwork, and stress.

In addition, stress and emotional upsets cause stagnation of the the basic energy of the body or qi.  Acne is treated with herbal medicines and acupuncture to produce release of the qi and a return of the body’s natural balance.

Health = Balance

In the eastern perspective, health is balance in the whole person.  Stress, poor diet, emotional upset, unhealthy environments, and overwork all upset our internal balance, and acne is just one symptom of that upset.

If you suffer from stress acne, you are not alone.  Stress acne is one of the most common skin disorders; it is more common in women, than in men.  Even people in their sixties can suffer from acne when they are under stress.  Fortunately, alternative treatments offer hope that stress acne can be controlled and possibly cleared.

By ;

Acne Alternative Treatments: Your Best Choice for Stress Acne

When your acne flares from stress, use acne alternative treatments instead of harsh chemicals. You can improve your skin without adding toxins to your system.

Woman with stress acneWhen you are under stress, your body’s chemical balance is disrupted.  Among many imbalances, your body increases inflammation (an overactive immune response). Toxins of all kinds create the same response and so adding toxins to an already overloaded immune system just makes your body’s health worse.

Acne is caused when the follicles, or pores, of the skin get blocked and the sebum, or oil, inside the follicle is blocked from draining.  Once this happens, bacteria begin to grow in the blocked follicle.  This blockage can remain un-inflammatory (a whitehead or blackhead) or it can become inflammatory acne (papule or pustule).  In either case, the acne is the result of the follicle being blocked from properly draining the sebum.

There are several factors which some believe contribute to acne.  Poor diet may exacerbate it, as can stress.

Some people believe that heavy or greasy makeup can make it worse.  Some people mistakenly believe that acne is caused by not washing the skin frequently enough.  In fact, washing the skin may increase the acne.  While all of these causes are sometime disputed, the one cause I found most frequently agreed upon is that acne can be caused by hormone imbalances.

Natural Acne Cures

Organic essential oils can be a boon to people with acne.  Alternative treatments using essential oils can help dissolve sebum, and can help kill the bacteria that start to grow.  And because our bodies have a natural symbiosis with plants, the organic essential oils are more supportive to our bodies than artificial chemicals.

  • Tea Tree oil is one of the first oils to think of for natural acne cures.  In fact in a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, tea tree oil was found to be as effective as benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of mild to moderate acne, and although it took longer to work, it also had fewer side affects.  You can dilute tea tree oil 50-50 with an organic vegetable oil and apply it over the oily areas, or you can take a drop on a cotton swab and put it directly on an inflamed pore.
  • Other essential oils which have anti-bacterial affects are clove, and the blends Thieves, Melrose, and Purification.
  • Oils which have the effect of reducing sebum production (drying skin) are bergamot (remember that this oil is photosensitive and should not be applied before going out in the sun), geranium, vetiver, and lemongrass.
  • Oils which soothing to the skin are lavender, rosewood, and patchouli.

All of these essential oils can help acne problems, but they can also be drying.  If you notice that your skin is getting too dry, just combine them 50-50 with and organic vegetable oil. When you apply the oils, rub them in very gently; do not irritate the skin.  And for maximum effectiveness, alternate your oils every day.

Hormone Balancing

The other way to use essential oils in your acne alternative treatment is to use oils which help balance your hormones.  Essential oils have homeostatic intelligence–they work to balance natural functions.  This means that the same oil may stimulate in one circumstance and calm in another.  Using oils which have hormone regulating effects will support your body finding its normal hormonal balance.

To use the oils, rub a few drops on the soles of the feet or crown of the head 1-3 time/day.

Oils which balance female hormones include fennel, anise, clary sage, sage, geranium and the blends Dragon Time, SclarEssence and Lady Sclareol.

Detoxing and Cleansing

  • Eat a healthy diet for both your stress levels and for your skin.  Avoid dairy products, fried food, chemical additives and sugar.
  • Avoid chemical make-up.  Try some pure mineral make-up to reduce the toxins on your skin.
  • Avoid plastics.  Some plastics exude estrogenic chemicals and may cause more hormonal imbalance.  Drink water from glass or ceramic containers.  Do not eat food that has been heated in a plastic container.
  • Begin a cleanse.  Increase your fiber to cleanse your colon and consider a short fast.  Like your colon, your skin is an organ of elimination.  If your colon can’t do its work, your skin works overtime.

When stress increases your acne, alternative treatments are the best way to clear your skin and support your overall health at the same time.