Stress can cause a little acne, or exacerbate an acne flareup in acne-prone skin.
When your body goes into fight or flight from emotional or physical stress, your skin is the lowest priority for your body to defend, heal, recharge and regenerate. Adrenals/androgen go into hyperdrive, triggering sebum. Do what you have to do in order to stay calm.
I absolutely think anxiety and stress can lead to increased acne. My acne was tolerable before I started graduate school. As soon as I started grad school my stress and anxiety levels sky rocketed. Can you guess what happened to my face? I was developing cystic acne all over my cheeks, it was so embarrassing. I still have nasty acne but I am doing my best to control my stress levels which hopefully will prevent future breakouts. who knows though....
When I'm stressed (normally because of Uni deadlines) I tend to get bad outbreaks too. Often when you're stressed you're more likely to eat sweets and junk food, as well as touching your face more and worrying about your spots. So recently I've tried buying lots of fruit to snack on instead of sweets, tried to touch my face less, and I find a long run followed by a nice hot shower can help me get a good night's sleep. I've also been trying to drink more water. I think it's been helping anyway.
Obviously, the best solution is just to be less stressed - which is easier said than done. But I do find exercise is very good for relieving stress - something that stops you thinking too much.
I suspect stress of being a big factor in my current outbreak, since I was crazy stressed (ie going through trauma) when my outbreak started a few months back. I've done some reading on it, and apparently cortisol (the stress hormone) can have an effect on insulin and androgen, which are responsible for acne. The frustrating thing is, I'm no longer crazy stressed, but my acne seems to be here to stay... So my theory is stress can cause acne, but destressing doesn't necessarily cure it...
Stress is the primary cause of my acne. Before July last year I had more or less clear skin without being on any acne medication or topical. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness in July and have been beyond stressed ever since and in this time period Ive had THE worst acne of my life by far.
I am definintely acne-prone but as long as I am stress free I dont have acne but when Im stressed acne it is (like Im not already irritable as it is).
Do those steps make a big difference to you?
Yes, I think they do - even if its just a placebo effect. I think they help not because they're necessarily good for my skin, but because they help me direct my attention elsewhere and be less stressed. Exercise can be incredibly relaxing, but pick a sport you enjoy. It shouldn't be a chore, but it should be challenging enough that you feel tired afterwards and get a sense of achievement. The hot (but not too hot) shower afterwards definitely calms my skin down, and I always wash my face in the shower. The steam opens up your pores.
The fruit is a bit of indulgence really - I take a break from whatever work I've got and go down the supermarket or the local town market and pick whatever I feel like - mango, raspberry, kiwi, whatever. It's good to look after yourself when you're stressed, and fruit will be better for your skin (and overall health) than chocolate and sweets. Guilt-free snacking.
I agree with somehelp123 about the meditation - but if I know I have a deadline I find it hard to meditate because I feel like I'm wasting time. Exercise and shopping are good alternatives for me, they take my mind off things.
Stress is one of those tricky problems to handle, like not thinking of pink elephants. But little things like these help and in turn help my skin too.