Acne and Stress - there is obviously a link

All of those things are true.

Stress > Genetics > Hormones > Oil (etcetera) > Acne

It's more of a knock on effect than any single thing. Each one predetermines the next.

Don't forget diet either.. (sugars/fats naturally increase androgenic hormones).

DE-STRESS.... sleep well.... don't eat garbage... use an acid (salicylic) if necessary.

Age does help too.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander

Good luck, I totally feel for you. It sucks. However, there is an up side. All that oil that is currently making your life hell will probably mean less wrinkles when you get older. Hang in there.

Less wrinkles you say?

My cheeks are covered in scars. They look WORSE than wrinkles. I've had them for 2 years straight and they still haven't got any better. It's caused me too have countless social problems that cause me to constantly want to isolate myself.

As for diet, I have a entirely different diet than my sister. I eat mostly healthy stuff, and she eats total crap. She has clear skin, and what do I get in return for eating healthy? More pimples! Why can most of my friends eat # from mcdonalds everyday and still have clear skin the next? All this crap about Diet and Acne is ridiculous.

I honestly think acne is caused by mental problems, be it Anxiety, Stress, or other stuff.

[edit on 14-1-2009 by knopper67]

[edit on 14-1-2009 by knopper67]

[edit on 14-1-2009 by knopper67]

reply to post by knopper67


Yeah, the scarring can suck. I have few scars, and those I do have are not very noticeable due to where they are, near the jaw and hairline.

I know what you mean about feeling awful and wanting to hide when your skin is broken out. If your acne is that bad you should probably consider accutane. I disagree with those who claim diet makes it worse or better as well. I tried everything under the sun in terms of diet and nothing ever helped.

Stress can make acne worse, especially if it leads to behavior changes like increased touching or washing or scrubbing of the acne, but I am under every bit or more stress now as I was as a teenager and the only time I ever get a blemish now is very clearly tied to my hormones. For women I think it is easier to see the relationship because when our hormones cycle we have a very obvious physical reminder that they are doing so.

If it were me, (depending how old you are) I would get a job and I would start a savings account with only ONE purpose, to get laser or chemical peeling done when you get to an age when the acne eases up a bit. You will not be able to get rid of every scar, unless you are lucky, but you can make them MUCH less noticeable. I know that wont help you tomorrow at school, but odds are, you really will get older and having a plan could (not saying it will) make you feel better.

I was raised in foster care, no one would pay for me to go to a dermatologist, so I got a job, and saved up my money and went myself. Sometimes there isnt a lot you can do in the very moment you are in to make your life better, but you can plan for a way to make it better in the future.

I know people can be jerks and say nasty things about the way you look, hell, before I was old enough to have acne, I got picked on because my clothes came from the Salvation Army. Some kids got picked on for being dumb, fat, ugly, poor, "uncool," nerdy, etc. People can be thoughtless and cruel. Young people talk about old people sometimes as if they were "gross." There may never be a time in your life when someone isnt making you feel like crap for something. But, you arent really alone. And, acne isnt the only thing that makes people feel all alone and hopeless.

You are not the sum of your skin, or your looks in general. If you dont learn that now, or soon, you are really going to be unhappy at 70 when everything you own is hanging down towards your knees.

HINT: some conditions have more than one possible cause. Acne has many possible causes. Plenty of people who aren't stressed have acne. It's generally accepted that stress is one of the causes of acne, or at least a trigger in people who are already predisposed. Nobody cares about the OP's anecdote, as the OP is one of more than SIX BILLION HUMANS, and nobody's experience is any more true than anyone else's.

A change of oil perhaps, pure JoJoba is wonderful(skin needs oil) for acne as moisturiser a couple of drops goes along way, gently massaged with clean fingers on a clean face. Virgin olive oil internally (i drink a swallow). Green clay, again this product must be in its natural state and mixed with enough water(a drop of teatree oil is verry helpfull) to make a paste for a mask that you leave on until it dries. This is to be done every second day while relaxing in a salt water bath(at least 3cps coarse sea salt) then shower it all off. Lime seems to be efficient for impurities, fresh juice gently swiped on aflicted surface, you can rince it of or leave it and keep the glowww. Salsapareil is a skin tea, it is fabulous to blend with mint or other flavoured herb and it does work for the complection. Chemicals are to be avoided, breathing is to be reviewed. Teenagers are really critical of others and some, of themselves especially. It is about not liking yourself really! Repeat to yourself constantly "I love and accept myself, I am a devine expression of life"

Yes stress is a factor, but the inability to digest the c#$%&p that passes for food is probably the biggest factor. Some people digest denature protein and oxidized fat better than others.

Check out these links:l
Acne Board Testimonial

Another Link

I never had really bad acne, but never grew out of it either. Now that I have eliminated cooked food, I don't unless I cheat. I'm 59 and have been on 90% raw foods for a year and a half
Of course I have plenty of built in stress!

reply to post by Doc Holiday

My sister ate much better than I (and still does), yet she her acne looked almost the same. I don't think she scratched off hers, either. I eat and drink (mostly drink) "bad" stuff much more often nowadays (last week, I drank 3 bottles of Dr. Pepper a day, but I haven't had any pop since Sunday), yet my acne doesn't really come back. The prescriptions help, though.


[edit on 16-1-2009 by flyindevil]

I had full body acne as a teen which was very embarrassing. I got a prescription for "Retin-A" which is synthetic vitamin A applied topically.
It works very well and has few - if any side effects. I saw results within 3 weeks! Only drawback is that it's very expensive. If you can't afford it, try taking vitamin A orally and topically.
Also, I believe teens get more acne because of hormonal changes and because schools aren't cleaned well. I am currently working as I custodian at a junior high and can tell you from experience that the schools don't get cleaned well. We have to clean the tables quickly with the same dirty rag and they encourage us to use harsh, toxic chemicals when we clean. Haven't you noticed the tables at school are sticky? You're getting that stuff on your hands and then your face if you don't keep washing your hands.

Originally posted by knopper67
Why is it that only most teens get acne? Is it because of puberty? # no!

Well, yah, pretty much. I've got my 16 yr old son seeing a a dermatologist, and it is a hormone related thing and ...apparently...it will be an issue til he stops growing. He's treating him with a prescription cream and dry ice when he comes in every 3 weeks. Also antibiotics to control infection/scarring. He doesn't like accutane because it can cause major birth defects for women carrying, also some issues with depression, and can also come back when you stop taking it.

Bottom line? Find a doc your peers recommend. Hang tight. It sucks...but this too shall pass. It only seems like forever. Good luck.

Originally posted by asmall89
I used to take antibiotic pills for mine and eventually it did get better, at a cost though. Because every time I forgot to take them for a day or two not only would the acne come back full force I would get sick. I eventually quit them and just decided to just wash my face more, and it's been about the same really. My parents lost it with age so I'm just hoping the same goes for me.

If you are taking Tetracycline derivative anti-biotics to control "acne" - odds are it is not acne, especially if it appears to spread in clumps like an infection (which it is). This is not acne at all.

It is an auto-immune reaction from the food toxins you are forced to eat. Below is a new warning label that has snuck onto a VERY common and 'healthy' food which everyone eats, the label of which has quietly been introduced to this particular food below (manufacturer info obscured). Yes, it is a GMO food, just as a hint. But this GMO food is not the only culprit on the market, being FORCE FED into our diets.

And the fact that the alarm is being sounded about auto-immune trigger foods and the impact that these foods potentially have on the unborn fetus, should tell you what is going on behind the propaganda from the food industry.

Real ethical science is not willing to hang around 75 years and see if these high auto-immunity factor foods are causing maladies in our children. They are quietly issuing the warning now.