Are Emotions Affecting Your Skin?

Artist: Evelyn Daviddi

Emotions.  Always an interesting topic as we learn more and more about how they are inseparable from the body.  I've noticed many of us have become detached from our feelings, most likely to protect ourselves from feeling things like awkward, sad, embarrassed, or guilty.  We seem to be living in a time when feeling uncomfortable is not okay, and it's best to tuck those uncomfortable emotions out of the way.  When we do this, we are given feel-good labels like strong, inspiring, brave, or fearless.  All amazing qualities.  However, denying ourselves time to cry or feel frustrated only exacerbates those feelings.  They need to surface at some point.  Under normal circumstances, emotions do not cause illness, but when they become prolonged or excessive, emotions can become a problem.

When it comes to skin and the emotions, traditional Chinese medicine has a lot to say.  To better understand this, we must first know the basic emotions and what they're associated with.  It looks like this:
Fear affects the Kidney energy
Anger/stress affects the Liver energy
Over-excitement/mania affects the Heart energy
Overthinking affects the Spleen energy
Sadness affects the Lung energy

Of course, unresolved or lingering emotions may cause a host of issues not related to the skin.  But let's look at how prolonged emotional upset may manifest as strange skin issues.

Fear
Dark circles under your eyes aren't always from sleep deprivation or not drinking enough water.  It may be associated with long-term fear affecting the Kidneys.  When fear is felt over a long period of time (think years and years), it really weakens the Kidney's energy.  Our Kidney energy naturally decreases as we age, but this is certainly not something we want to see in our early 20s.

Anger
Lingering and unexpressed anger is common in today's society.  This causes our energy to ball up and stagnate, aka, stress knots in neck and shoulders.  It also may be the reason behind your pesky skin issues like heat rashes, hives, or red/purple acne, especially if they show up around the ribcage or between your eyebrows.

Over-excitement
The Heart energy is reflected in the face.  Excessive excitement or mania affecting the Heart manifests as a dull complexion, pale complexion, broken blood capillaries, and dry skin and hair.  

Overthinking 
​Overthinking and worry weaken the energy of the Spleen, a major part of the digestive system.  A person who tends to worry excessively tends to also have a weak digestive system.  On the skin, this may show up as very pale or bright red lips, stubborn whiteheads all over the face, oily skin, or bruise easily.

Sadness
The lungs are said to govern skin and therefore a host of issues can also be attributed to lung health.  Sadness lasting a long time or difficulty moving through grief may present as eczema, psoriasis, and acne (especially on forehead and near the nose) to name a few skin conditions.

There's always a solution for every issue.  And when conventional methods don't seem to be working, drawing on the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine may provide you with the answers and solutions you're looking for.  

Have a question about your pesky skin issue?  Call me for a free 20 minute consultation and we'll see what acupuncture and Chinese herbs can do for you!