Many people think of skin as a/an ______ to keep bad influences out of our body.

W: We have been talking about stress for years, and we often link stress to numerous health issues. High blood pressure and migraines, for instance, may be signs that we’ve got way too much on our mind. But do you know that one of the first places stress shows up is on your skin? Yes, that’s true. The skin is our largest organ. Like many people, you might think of it as a barrier to keep negative influences out and what’s positive in But the skin is also a busy organ with direct and indirect connections to our brain.
    Stress is a normal part of life. We all feel anxious or overwhelmed sometimes. When we feel stress, parts of our body will be inflamed as a protective reaction to it. Short-term inflammation helps fight off disease, but chronic inflammation severely harms our body and is linked to a wide variety of diseases, such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma. What does that mean to our skin? When a pore—the tiny opening in our skin—is inflamed, it becomes thick and enlarged and is more likely to become blocked up. When collagen becomes inflamed, wrinkles will appear on our skin, sometimes accompanied with dryness and itchiness. All of these are telltale indicators of what’s really going on inside.
    When we have find "unwelcome guests" on our skin, such as acne and blemish, we very often blame external influences—chocolate, dust, even the weather—for the state of our skin. But the real cause of a so-called "bad skin day" is often emotional. You go to the office or supermarket and run into a friend who asks what’s going on as soon as she sees you, because it’s hard to hide a flaw in your skin. That’s the thing about the skin: You have to deal not only with how you feel but also with how others react to you. The good news is that is capable of self-healing. Once your skin starts to mend, people notice immediately and tell you that you look radiant.
    If we do have stress-related skin problems, how do we deal with them? Is the cure in a bottle? You may have already noticed this: Anti-aging products are flying off the shelves of pharmacies as well as department stores. Women are buying these products at ever younger ages, which is a sign that you’re never too young to worry about the aging effects of stress. Even teenagers are reporting increasing stress levels—and it’s showing up on their skin. A recent study found that teenagers find their skin 23% worse around exam time. This rise in breakouts isn’t due to the oil that blocks the skin. It’s inflammation that does the trick.
    So back to the question, how do we handle the problem? We learn to manage stress. Our health habits are often the first thing to go when we get stressed. We may skip the gym, smoke, eat junk food, abandon our skin-care routines and withdraw from our family and friends in time of stress. But learn to take control of the things that are truly under our control. So first, improve your self-discipline and stick to our healthy habits. For example, if you exercise regularly, go on with it. A walk of 15 minutes might be enough to boost our mood. Second, try different ways to release stress, especially things like massage, yoga, meditation, for they may have a quieting effect on us. And third, don’t forget the golden advice—sleep. Sleep is anti-inflammatory. It’s a time of natural healing. Getting enough sleep will keep your best coping skills at hand.
    In addition to working on ourselves, socialization is also a great help. Find someone—a friend, relative, therapist—and talk about what is going on in your life rather than isolating yourself. Another thing we could turn to is moisturizer, though many people don’t have faith in it, it does help to calm our skin and lessen the dryness and itchiness brought by stress. Look for one that is skin-friendly or fragrance-free so it won’t cause irritation on your skin. Finally, there are things available at drugstores. Popular products like Retinol help remove dead skin cells and thicken the skin. It works against wrinkles and spots. Believe it or not, there is external help that we can get to undo the damaging effects of life’s dally grind.