Skin Symptoms Caused By Anxiety

Why Does Anxiety Cause Skin Symptoms

1. The stress response

Anxious behavior activates the stress response. The stress response secretes stress hormones into the bloodstream where they travel to targeted spots to bring about specific physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that enhance the body’s ability to deal with a threat—to fight or flee.

This survival reaction is often referred to as the fight or flight response, the emergency response, the fight, flight, or freeze response (some people freeze when they are afraid like a “deer caught in headlights”), or the fight, flight, freeze, or faint response (since some people faint when they are afraid).[1][2]

The stress response brings about its many changes because stress hormones are powerful stimulants that quickly stimulate the body into immediate action. As such, the stress response is a vital part of the body’s survival mechanism.

Some of these emergency response changes include:

1. Stimulates the nervous system so that it is more sensitive and reactive to stimuli.
2. Heightens senses, including sense of touch, so that our sensitivity and reactivity to danger are increased.
3. Shunts blood away from the skin and to other parts of the body more important for survival.
4. Tightens muscles so they are more resilient to harm.

Visit the “Stress Response” article for more information about the many changes and how they can affect the body.

Any one or combination of the above actions can create the sensations associated with this symptom. For instance:

Stress hormones coursing through the body

Stress responses cause a burst of stress hormones that flow through the body. Since stress hormones are powerful stimulants, the stimulating effect at the sensory level can be experienced as a burning, crawly, watery, prickly, etc. skin sensation as the body prepares for immediate action.

Many of these sensations can be perceived as coming from on or in the skin.

Many anxious people notice skin sensations when 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 many types of skin sensations, such as those associated with this symptom.

Again, many anxious people notice skin sensations when 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 to be 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 skin sensations anywhere on or in the body 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 “unusual” skin sensations.

Increased muscle tension

Tight muscles, which can also tighten joints, can make areas of skin feel unusually tight.

Again, any of the above changes can cause “skin sensations” such as those associated with this symptom.

As long as the stress response is active, we can experience skin sensations.

Skin sensations are a common indication of an active stress response.

The higher the degree of stress response, the more pronounced the sensations.

Many anxious people experience odd skin sensations due to an active stress response.

2. Hyperstimulation (chronic stress)

Just as an active stress response can cause these types of skin symptoms, so, too, can the chronic activation of the stress response.

For instance, when stress responses occur infrequently, the body can recover relatively quickly from the many stress response changes.

However, the body can't recover when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly anxious behavior.

Incomplete recovery can leave the body in a state of semi-stress response readiness, which we call “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are stimulants.

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

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.

Having a hypersensitive and reactive nervous system that causes odd skin sensations and symptoms is a common consequence of hyperstimulation.

Furthermore, in addition to an increase in nervous system activity, hyperstimulation can cause the nervous system to act erratically.[6]

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 for 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).[7][8]

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 being “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.[9]

Because this “back and forth” interaction happens so quickly – nerve impulse information can travel as fast as 268 miles per hour[10] – 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. Problems can occur, however, when the body and nervous system become hyperstimulated.[11]

Neurons are particularly sensitive to stress hormone stimulation due to their electrochemical properties. When neurons become chronically stimulated, they can act erratically, which can cause them to “misreport,” “over-report,” and send “false” nerve impulse information to and from the brain.[4][12] These abnormalities can cause many odd skin sensations and feelings, such as those associated with this skin anxiety symptom.

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.[13]

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 or being burned when the skin hasn’t been harmed or burned.

All the descriptions we mentioned associated with this symptom can occur due to hyperstimulation and its effects on the body, including the nervous system and skin.

Additionally, and as we previously mentioned, the stress response causes blood to flow away from the skin and to other parts of the body more necessary for survival.

While this action is beneficial when in dangerous situations, prolonged emergency readiness, such as from hyperstimulation, can adversely affect the skin.

For example, 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.[14]

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 increase. 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.

Consequently, hyperstimulation 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 resulting from these irritations can be experienced as itching, crawling, burning, biting, stinging, pinching, and so on.

Again, any one, or the combination, of above reasons can cause these types of skin symptoms. This is the reason why anxiety (stress) and hyperstimulation (chronic stress) are well documented reasons for the development of these types of skin symptoms.[15][16][17][18]

While anxiety- and stress-caused skin symptoms can be annoying and distracting, they aren’t harmful. They are merely indications of an active stress response or hyperstimulation. Therefore, there is no reason to worry or distress about them.

3. Other Factors

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

• Medication
• 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.