When stress takes over our lives, it can be damaging to our health. Stress not only weakens our immune system, but it also affects our skin’s barrier function. The skin’s barrier function is important for regulating the balance of water and temperature of our skin as well as blocking the entry of microorganisms.
Chronic stress activates the so-called HPA axis, which is the connection between the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain and the adrenal glands on the kidneys. Activation of the HPA axis by stress leads to higher levels of the stress hormones corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and cortisol, which have a profound effect on our health, skin and brain.
The HPA axis is kept balanced by neurotransmitters such as serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine. However, if the HPA axis gets chronically stimulated by stress, a major imbalance in neurotransmitters can result and may lead to the development of anxiety and depression.
Research suggests that the breakdown of the skin’s barrier function (or matrix degeneration) in combination with excessive exposure to the sun, forms a central part of rosacea development. A breakdown of the collagen fibers is thought to play a major part in the degeneration of the skin’s matrix. Poor connective tissue support for blood vessels just underneath the skin can therefore result in the pooling of serum, metabolic waste and immune mediators, which over time leads to more flushing, edema, chronic erythema and telangiestacias. The involvement of a matrix breakdown in rosacea is likely, because blood vessels in rosacea are still able to respond to vasoactive substances.
An out-of-balance HPA axis (particularly prominent in depression and anxiety), results in high levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH has been shown to increase the permeability of peripheral blood vessels through the stimulation of mast cells, which in turn release immune mediators such as histamine and nitric oxide.
Anti-depressant drugs are thought to “calm” an over-active HPA axis by increasing the availability of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline.
Therefore, the use of antidepressants for a prolonged period of time may reduce the severity of rosacea symptoms. Reducing stress levels in our lives could have a significant impact on the progression and stabilization of rosacea symptoms.
References
Fimmel S. et al. (2008) New aspects of the pathogenesis of rosacea. Drug Discovery Today: Disease Mechanisms 5: 103-111.
More on Stress and Depression
- comment on mental health in the workplace: food for thought by … – a very well written article. unfortunately mental health isn’t openly discussed as much as it should be. maybe one day it will be.
Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay.
Happy Jason
mm, thanks for posting. You will this in Rosacea forums too, but they have moderators that can spot these people pretty easily.
In most cases topicals do not work on people with redness in the face. Topicals do work for some of the other symptoms of rosacea. There are about a million products claiming they work, and I’ve tried about half of them with absolutely no positive benefit, in fact my face always gets worse with topicals. Lasers somewhat work but are expensive. Diet and exercise along with avoiding triggers can marginally help. Check out this link for a great forum that may give you some answers.
http://rosacea-support.org/community/
seratoninman
So basically you’re saying, that having a normal-high level of seratonin can help with flushing or progression of the rosacea?
mm
Marcia C is a representative from Made from Earth and posts the exact same comment all over the internet about their product Made from Earth Rosehip & Hibiscus Face Serum. I *almost* fell for it myself. Check it out: copy/paste the above comment by Marcia C into google and do a search. See for yourself the numerous repeats of the same text on various skincare forums. Thanks a lot Marcia C you loser.
Marcia C
My skin went crazy…it felt like it was on fire. Raw and red and such pain!
I went to the dermatologist and he prescribed “MetroLotion” and all it did was burn my skin even more.( This started when I was about 48 years old—other strange health problems were happening at the same time).
I started using the Made from Earth Rosehip & Hibiscus Face Serum also – and my skin is under control. The hideous raw red skin flares occaisionally…I use it daily…
Beatrice
There is helpful information at http://www.rosaceainfo.com.
Paula Harris
This is so true! I am a living example of all of the above! At least I now have scientific evidence to explain my symptoms. It’s still hard to live with, but, having this proof helps. Thanks for info!