Burning Skin On Face Anxiety Symptoms

What Causes A Burning Skin On The Face Feeling?

1. Anxiety-Triggered Stress Response

Anxious behavior, which creates anxiety, activates the stress response, causing many body-wide changes that prepare the body for immediate emergency action – to fight or flee. This survival reaction is often referred to as the fight or flight response.[1][2]

Some of these changes include:

• Increases blood sugar so that we have an instant boost of energy.
• Stimulates the nervous system, increasing nervous system activity.
• Heightens most of the body’s senses.
• Shunts blood to parts of the body more vital to survival, such as the brain, arms, legs, and vital organs, and away from parts less vital for survival, such as the stomach, digestive system, and skin.
• Suppresses the immune system so that most of the body’s resources are used for emergency action.
• Increases perspiration to keep the body cool and expel toxins.

To name a few.

Visit our “Stress Response” article for more information about the many changes it causes.

There are many ways the stress response can cause a burning skin feeling. For example:

Stress hormones course through the body

The stress response releases stress hormones into the bloodstream that travel throughout the body. Since stress hormones are powerful stimulants, the stimulating effect at the sensory level can be experienced as a burning skin sensation.

This “burning” sensation can be perceived as coming from on or in the skin.

Many anxious people notice a “burning sensation” when they are anxious, and a stress response has been activated, especially stress responses in the moderate to very high degree ranges.

Blood shunted away from the skin

The epidermis is the top layer of the skin. It’s the body’s protective covering. The next layer down is the dermis layer.

The dermis contains nerve endings, blood vessels, oil glands, and sweat glands. It also contains collagen and elastin, making the dermis tough and stretchy.

During a stress response, blood is shunted away from the skin so that it can be used in parts of the body more vital to survival, and so we don’t bleed to death if the skin is cut during fighting or fleeing.

Immediately shunting blood away from the skin can create a “burning skin” sensation.

Again, many anxious people notice a “burning skin” sensation when anxious and a stress response has been activated, especially stress responses in the moderate to very high degree ranges.

Heightened sense of touch

Stress responses also increase most of the body’s senses so that they are more sensitive and reactive to danger. Our sense of touch is one of the senses that is increased.

An increased sense of touch can cause a “burning” sensation anywhere on or in the skin when a stress response has been activated.

Increased nervous system activity

Stress responses also increase nervous system activity. An increase in nervous system activity can heighten communication between the body’s sense organs and the brain, making our senses, including touch, seem super sensitive, heightened, and “exaggerated.”

The sensation of touch can also be heightened and interpreted as a “burning” sensation.

Increased perspiration

A sudden increase in perspiration can make the skin initially feel hot before the air causes a cool feeling.

Stress hormones flooding the body, blood shunted away from the skin, heightened senses (including an increased sense of touch), and increased nervous system activity can cause a skin-burning feeling anywhere on or in the body, including on the head, face, ears, lips, scalp, or shoulders while the stress response is active.

As long as the stress response is active, we can experience a burning skin sensation.

Burning skin anywhere on or in the body, including the face, is a common anxiety symptom. The higher the degree of stress response, the more pronounced the burning sensation.

2. Hyperstimulation (chronic stress)

When stress responses occur infrequently, the body can recover relatively quickly from its many changes.

However, when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly anxious behavior, the body can't completely recover, creating a state of semi-stress-response readiness, we call “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.

Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[3][4][5]

Hyperstimulation can cause the changes of an active stress response even though a stress response hasn’t been activated.

Visit our “Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect the body and how we feel.

It’s well documented hyperstimulation) (chronic stress) can cause many different types of skin-related symptoms, including a burning skin sensation.[6][7][8][9]

In addition to the “burning skin” sensation caused by an active stress response, hyperstimulation can worsen this symptom. For instance:

Chronic blood shunting

Blood contains both Red Blood Cells (RBC) and White Blood cells (WBC). White Blood Cells are officially known as Leukocytes. Leukocytes are involved in defending the body against infective organisms and foreign substances.

Leukocytes are quite remarkable. They are independent; move about on their own; fight against, capture, and carry away “foreign” invaders; and clean up the aftermath of dead cells after the battle is over.

Leukocytes are the principal components of the immune system and function by destroying "foreign" substances such as bacteria and viruses.

When an infection is present, the production of WBCs increases. If the number of leukocytes is abnormally low (a condition known as leukopenia), infection is more likely to occur, and it is more difficult for the body to get rid of the infection.

Chronic stress can cause the blood to be continually shunted away from the skin. When the skin is constantly deprived of a generous supply of blood, it can be more susceptible to irritations, rashes, and infections.

Minor skin pain or discomfort from these irritations can be experienced as a “burning” sensation.

Nervous Excitation And Dysregulation

When nervous system activity becomes chronically increased, such as from hyperstimulation, it can act erratically.[4][5]

For example, the body’s nervous system is responsible for sending sensory nerve impulse information from the body’s sense organs to the brain for interpretation and then sending nerve impulse information from the brain to the body.

The nervous system accomplishes this “sending and receiving” via specialized cells called “neurons.” Neurons communicate with each other using an electrochemical process (the combination of electricity and chemistry).[10][11]

If you touch a hot burner, the nerve receptors in the skin send this sensory information – electrical signals - through the nervous system network to the brain.

Once the brain interprets this sensory information as “hot,” the brain then sends nerve impulse information to the muscles that control the arm and hand to pull the hand away from the hot burner.[12]

Because this “back and forth” interaction happens so quickly – nerve impulse information can travel as fast as 268 miles per hour[13] – it can prevent the skin from being burned if we react quick enough.

This system of nervous system communication and reaction works well when the body and nervous system are healthy. However, problems can occur when the body and nervous system become hyperstimulated.[14]

Neurons are particularly sensitive to stress hormone stimulation due to their electrochemical properties. When neurons become chronically stimulated, they can act erratically, causing them to “misreport,” “over-report,” and send “false” nerve impulse information to and from the brain.[4][15] These abnormalities can cause many odd skin sensations and feelings, such as a “burning” sensation.

Moreover, because hyperstimulation can cause an increase in the electrical activity in parts of the brain, which can cause neurons to become even more unstable, neurons can fire even more erratically when the body and nervous system become hyperstimulated.[16]

For example, nerve endings in the dermis can send the sensation of being touched when nothing has touched the skin. They can also send the sensations of pain, such as a “burning” sensation, when the skin hasn’t been harmed or burned.

Reduced Immune Function

Hyperstimulation can chronically impair the body’s immune system, allowing intruders like bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections to take hold. Infections can cause minor skin irritations that feel like a “burning” or “itching” before the skin shows signs of damage.

A burning skin sensation anywhere on or in the body, including the head, face, neck, ears, lips, scalp, or shoulders, is a common symptom of hyperstimulation.

3. Side effects of medication

Many medications, including common psychotropic medications (anti-anxiety, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, etc.), can cause a “burning skin” sensation as a side effect.

If you think your burning might be related to your medication, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about options.

4. Other Factors

Other factors can create stress and cause anxiety-like symptoms, as well as aggravate existing anxiety symptoms, including:

• Recreational drugs
• Stimulants
• Sleep deprivation
• Fatigue
• Hyper and hypoventilation
• Low blood sugar
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Dehydration
• Hormone changes
• Pain

Select the relevant link for more information.