Stress comes in
different “packages” for different people and what is stressful to you will not
necessarily bother someone else. However, our bodies respond to stress in the
same way. Adrenaline is the number one stress hormone; it speeds up the heart
beat, breathing and metabolic rate to give us a necessary rush of extra energy.
to deal with circumstances that cuse stress. Adrenaline is produced and stored in our two
adrenal glands that are situated on top of the kidneys and with long-term
stress these glands will deplete.
Unfortunately modern stress is relentless and experienced day after day never
giving us time to relax and balance ourselves it also have quite profound effect
on the skin and may exasperate your acne .
When we are stressed our blood sugar and insulin levels rise to mobilize the body organs to deal with the stress. This “mobilization” is a protection mechanism and while in many situations it helps us to be more efficient in dealing with stress, it also has some seriously negative impacts on our bodies –in short – stress causes a serious increase in inflammatory chemicals at a cellular level which can exacerbate acne. Since acne is one form of inflammatory disease – stress will worsen acne, sometimes quite dramatically. We all experience this situation in our lives when exams, job interviews or even health changes of our loved ones may cause an increase in breakouts and a more difficult path to eliminate them.
We also need to know
that during the “mobilization” of our bodies to deal with stress several
special hormones are produced to help mediate this process. Some of the most
important are Cortisol and other hormones released by the adrenal glands that
can act as androgens (male hormones) and over- stimulate the sebaceous glands. A previously mentioned androgens and
fluctuating hormone levels will produce
more skin oil which in turn clogs the pores and… an acne flare-up is on the way.
So if you already have acne or just acne prone skin it is
vital that you find ways to eliminate or at least to reduce physical and
psychological stress that is indeed directly correlated with breakouts.
Add the dried herbs to 1 pint (600ml) of boiling water in a warmed pot with a lid. Leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes and then strain. Drink warm throughout the day.