Acne and Emotions

Hormonal imbalance is the root cause of acne. Hormonal imbalance is also responsible for mood swings of epic proportions. When you add the two together, things can get explosive, to say the least.

There is a debate that rages about whether the emotional upheavals caused by hormonal imbalance negatively affects acne or whether the hormonal imbalance that causes acne is responsible for the emotional upheavals. The debate is a lot like the one that rages about which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I saw a girl wearing a T-shirt the other day that said, "I have PMS and a handgun! Any questions?" Nope! That about sums it up for me!

The situation really is not a laughing matter, however. There is simply no shortcut between childhood and adulthood and around the bodily changes that must take place for the latter to occur. Science is working on the problem, but there is no magic pill, and I doubt very seriously that there ever will be.

The best that we can do right now is to control the acne and thus provide some emotional relief. The good news is that acne can be controlled. The acne-fighting over-the-counter products are very effective for mild cases of acne. If the acne is more severe, there are prescription medications that can work wonders. There are soaps, creams, ointments, facial masks, and moisturizers available, both over the counter and by prescription, that do help to control acne.

These medications and treatments are available both online and off.

There simply is no shortcut between being a teenager and being an adult that isn't marked by acne and by emotional turmoil. But treating acne can help teenagers make the trip unscathed and — even more importantly — unscarred.

Does Stress Cause Acne?

Does stress cause acne? The debate in medical circles has raged for years. There were those who said yes, stress can cause acne, and those who said no, stress does not cause acne. Recently the consensus has been reached that stress worsens acne. That isn't a complete concession by either side of the debate, but it is one that most of us are comfortable with.

We can't say that stress is actually the cause of acne, but we can say that stress certainly does aggravate acne. Avoiding or at least managing stress is desirable on many health fronts, and acne is one of those fronts. Stress can affect blood pressure, heart rate, and digestion, so it stands to reason that it could have a detrimental effect on the health of the skin as well.

Physically, acne is caused by the glands overproducing sebum. Sebum mixes with dead skin cells and a pimple or a blackhead is the result. What causes the body to overproduce sebum has always been open to some controversy. It is generally accepted that hormonal imbalance is responsible for the increased production of sebum, but emotional upheaval is also known to cause the body to overproduce sebum.

There is no pat answer here. The best thing that an acne sufferer can do is to treat the acne and treat the emotional turmoil at the same time. Treating acne is as simple as going to the corner drugstore and purchasing acne-fighting over-the-counter products or, in severe cases of acne, seeing a dermatologist.

Treating the emotional upheaval doesn't have a simple one-size-fits-all method solution. Many dermatologists recommend counseling. Some recommend yoga or other meditative treatments.

The good news is that the acne will clear up in early adulthood about the same time the hormones become balanced again, and the emotions will become more stable as well.