Healthy Skin Begins with Healthy Mind

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/mind-skin-health-connection

Good Day All!

Here she goes again. I can just hear all the groaning going on out there. Well, just don't shoot the messenger. I am here to tell you that your internal state has a direct bearing on the health of your skin. In Psychology Today, Elaine Zablocki talks about the Mind-Skin-Health Connection. I've provided the link here so you can go and read for yourself the veracity of this phenomenon. http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/mind-skin-health-connection

This shouldn't be startling news to you. It's more like something you say to yourself, "easier said that done." True. But, none the less true. And today is a good day to change this, right now.

Where do you think all those wrinkles come from? Stress. I used to watch my Mom screw up her face in concentration. Always the same face, deepening those same lines. And my Dad would get the same lines when he got angry - deepening those lines over and over again.
I used to get hives, always when I was nervous or upset. The emotional condition inside has a direct bearing on the skin. Sometimes it's immediate; sometimes with practiced responses, over time the results are evident. Want more first hand evidence? I have had a set of twins in my life since the 4th grade. One twin is happy go lucky and handles things in an even way. The other twin is negative and greedy and mean. After I hadn't seen them for about 4 years, I chanced on them and was shocked. The first twin looked as lovely and twinkly as ever. The second twin looked like the witch in the Wizard of Oz - you know, the one the house fell on! Identical twins and their internal states of being were etched on their faces. One beautifully, the other hideously.
Both were choices. I might add here that the second twin has spent quite a fortune in plastic surgery in order to erase the damages of her "negative internal state."

It is imperative that one gets a handle on their emotional state. Perhaps your motivation is you want to look younger, get rid of that eczema, or you want to be beautiful at any age. I'm rooting for the last one; beauty at every age. But no matter what your motivation is, you will always be led back to your responsibility for managing your internal self.

In stress the human mind is believing something that it thinks is real. So we have a response in fear or anxiety or rage or whatever. This internal response to the external situation produces a chain of chemical reactions in the body. Repeatedly over a lifetime, this takes it toll. Since in this blog we're focused on skin care, we'll stick to that. So wrinkles, excessive flight or fight responses diminish the quality of the skin - elastic and suppleness. We tend to hold our breath, and deprive the skin of oxygen and nutrition. The skin begins to look sallow or dry. These are all responses to internal stress. And, overtime, they take their toll. Left unaddressed, the habituated pattern leaves its marks.

So, what to do? Well, make a decision to begin handling these mental ideas that cause you to respond with a stressful response (fear, shallow breathing, anger, etc.) to begin handling them, even seeing them with a different view. Instead of being afraid, I'll take a deep breath and remind myself that it's never over til it's over...and there's always more. I'll change my response to laughing. I'll be mindful when I'm in anxiety and take a giant break from what I'm pushing at.
I'll take my yoga practice into work or home or the board room.

Getting a handle on stress means you've decided to take a giant step towards being the deliberate designer of your own life and skin. Say yes to all the laugh lines. Bring on all the joy creases! Celebrate all the facial tracks of ecstasy. Point your intention towards giving up stress and embracing the adventures of life. You'll be gorgeous.

Thanks for reading!

Kath