Fighting Stress
It may not be immediately apparent to you that stress and eczema are related. But they are. Integrally related. When I first noticed the breakout of seborrheic eczema on my face, it was during a time of stress. Ever thereafter, the higher my stress levels, the most pronounced the eczema. It’s not just personal experience that leads me to this conclusion. It’s scientific evidence.
Understanding Stress
Stress is the body’s natural reaction to intense circumstances. In fact, stress is a good thing—when it’s necessary. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced, high-pressure lifestyles, too much stress has produced too much of those ‘good things’ that are not always necessary—things like increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, interruption of the digestive process, increase in muscle tension, and faster breathing rate. Those qualities are great when you’re in a dangerous situation where quick action is necessary. When sustained on a day-to-day basis, however, they produce harmful bodily effects.
- Fatigue
- Digestive complications
- Headaches
- Addictive behavior
- Dangerous high blood pressure (possibly leading to a stroke)
- Reduced ability to fight infection
- Irritability, mood swings, and erratic behavior
Most significantly, stress is directly linked to higher occurrences of eczema. It is in your best interest, and general wellbeing to fight stress.
Ways to Fight Stress
- Get enough sleep. Experts recommend eight hours, and it’s best to try to get this amount of sleep each night. While you sleep, your skin heals and the rest of your body has a time to restore itself.
- Take a break. And not just the two-week vacation next June. Take a two-minute break from the lawn your mowing, from the report you’re writing, or from the housework you’re doing. Take a minute to just stop and calm down.
- Find a hobby. Getting a diversion is a great way to relax. And, no, watching TV isn’t the kind of hobby we’re talking about here. Something constructive, profitable, and relaxing—but something that keeps your mind and body active—is important for reducing stress.
- Eat right and drink plenty of water. Your diet drastically affects stress levels. The healthier you are able to eat, the lower your stress levels should be.
- Exercise regularly. One of the best ways of reducing stress is to engage in regular exercise. Taking 20-30 minutes each day to do something physical, ideally a workout regimen, brisk walk, or a jog, is a perfect way to eliminate the pent-up stress that you may develop throughout an intense day.
Hopefully, you will find, as I did, that a reduced-stress lifestyle is a reduced-eczema lifestyle, too.
