If you have been experiencing a lot of stress recently, you may notice its effects on your body. These effects include changes in your sleep, mood, and even appetite. However, another effect of stress you may experience is psoriasis. If you are currently experiencing this condition, it can be frustrating to determine why it happens and how to relieve it. This article will examine the link between psoriasis and stress and what you can do about it.
What Is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in your skin. Psoriasis will present in your skin as thick areas that are discolored and covered with scales. These thick, scaly regions on your skin are also known as plaques.
Psoriasis can affect any part of your body, but some common places where it can occur include (1):
- Elbows and knees
- Face
- Inside the mouth
- Scalp
- Finger and toenails
- Genitals
- Lower back
- Palms and feet
There are several different types of psoriasis, including (1):
- Plaque psoriasis: The most common type affecting 80-90% of individuals with psoriasis.
- Inverse psoriasis: Occurring in skin folds.
- Guttatte psoriasis: Small, red, drop-shaped scales generally occurring after a sore throat caused by a streptococcal infection. It often affects children and young adults.
- Pustular psoriasis is psoriasis with small, pus-filled bumps on the plaque.
- Erythrodermic psoriasis: Covering more than 90% of your skin, it can also cause skin shedding.
- Sebopsoriasis: Psoriasis affecting your face and scalp, it can present with greasy, yellow scales.
- Nail psoriasis: Affecting fingers and toenails, it can cause pitting and discoloration of your nails
There can be many long-term effects of psoriasis, including:
- Low self-esteem
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Heart conditions
- Liver conditions
Is Psoriasis Contagious?
Unfortunately, there is a belief that touching a psoriasis plaque or even being near someone with psoriasis can be contagious. This can contribute to anxiety and depression in individuals experiencing psoriasis.
However, psoriasis is not contagious. In addition, anyone can experience it.
What Causes Psoriasis?
There can be a few causes of psoriasis, including:
- Genetics, if there is a family history of psoriasis, there is a 60-90% chance of having it
- Medications such as beta-blockers and lithium
- Obesity
- Stress
Psoriasis and Stress: What The Research Says
Whilst stress has been believed to trigger psoriasis, there has been little clinical evidence on whether or not it can increase the occurrence of psoriasis. A study published in 2024 researched this effect. The study involved 1.6 million Swedish men, with an average age of 18, who were enrolled in military service. These men were grouped into three categories based on their resilience to stress: high, medium, and low resilience to stress.
The results found that in the group with low resilience to stress, there was a 31% increased risk of developing psoriasis compared to the group with high resilience to stress. Additionally, it was found that the more severe cases of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis were linked to stress (2).
Psoriasis and Stress: How It Happens
Your body can handle short-term stress with the help of a six-circuit system called the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response System. One way the NEM system manages stress is by stimulating your adrenal glands to produce stress hormones such as cortisol to help your body cope with the stress.
If the stress persists, your adrenal glands can become depleted of cortisol, resulting in low levels. When this happens, your body is unable to cope with stress, imbalances in the NEM system can develop, and Adrenal Fatigue can occur. This is a condition where the body is unable to keep up with long-term stress, which will result in various symptoms depending on where the imbalance is occurring in the NEM system.
One of the circuits within the NEM system is the Inflammation circuit consisting of the immune system, gastrointestinal tract, and gut microbiome. This circuit is responsible for regulating inflammation in your body. While a small amount of inflammation is beneficial, when this circuit becomes imbalanced, inflammation can increase and begin to cause various symptoms in your body.
Inflammation and Psoriasis
An imbalance in the inflammation circuit can start to cause food sensitivities to the protein in foods, such as that in gluten or dairy. Whilst this may seem harmless, the effects of food sensitivities can be serious. If these foods are still consumed, your gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), the tissue found within your gut, may start to attack the protein within the food by producing antibodies.
When this happens the fingerlike projections in your gut also known as villi start to break down. This results in the gut wall becoming permeable. This can result in toxins and the antibodies leaving your gut and entering your bloodstream. When this happens the antibodies can start to attack another organ, such as your skin, and this can result in psoriasis.
Psoriasis and Stress: What Can You Do?
Understanding the link between psoriasis and stress is important because once it is understood, the root cause can be addressed, and this may provide relief from psoriasis.
Enhance Gut Health
Gut health can play a large role in psoriasis, especially if it results from a leaky gut. Many different strategies may help to heal a leaky gut, and generally, these strategies work together.
Identify Food Sensitivities
Food sensitivities play a big role in inflammation. Thus reducing your intake or completely avoiding these foods can reduce the inflammation and is an important step in healing your gut. If you aren’t sure whether or not you have a food sensitivity, you can practice an elimination diet to observe whether or not there is a shift in your body, or you can consult with your healthcare provider, who may be able to provide more tests.
Once the problem food or foods are identified, they can then be reduced or eliminated from your diet. For some, this elimination may only be for a short period; however, this depends on the individual.
Reduce Your Intake of Proinflammatory Foods
Whilst food sensitivities can cause inflammation in your body, there are also other foods that can increase inflammation in your body. These foods include:
- Refined grains
- Foods high in added sugars
- Foods high in saturated fats
Additionally, these foods may also further reduce the beneficial bacteria in your gut, increasing further inflammation (3).
Increase Your Intake of Probiotics
Probiotics are bacteria that can help to repopulate your gut and increase the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Probiotics are available in supplemental form. However, they are also found naturally in fermented foods such as:
- Yogurt
- Sauerkraut
- Kefir
- Kimchi
Increase Your Intake of Prebiotics
Where probiotics are the bacteria for your gut, prebiotics are the food for these bacteria and help to maintain the population. Prebiotics can also be found in supplement form, but it is preferable to get these from food sources such as (4):
- Bananas
- Asparagus
- Onion
- Garlic
- Artichokes
- Beans
- Soybeans
- Unrefined grains:
- Barley
- Rye
- Wheat
While these food sources may benefit your gut, avoid them if you are sensitive.
Supplementation
Optimal nutrition is vital to enhancing gut health and reducing stress on the body. However, supplementation can help ensure adequate nutrients and provide nutrients that may not be consumed.
One advantage of supplementation is that it can be formulated to target a specific area. HSN Formula by Dr. Lam is one supplement formulated to help with skin, hair, and nail health.
These nutrients may help reduce psoriasis. They include a range of vitamins and minerals and a proprietary blend consisting of methylsulfonylmethane, hydrolyzed collagen, and several extracts.
This combination of ingredients helps improve skin health. Dr. Lam recommends two tablets a day of HSN.
Regular Exercise
Not only does regular exercise help to promote gut health, but exercise also can help to reduce stress, thus helping to address the link between psoriasis and stress. The recommended exercise is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity spread throughout the week, with two days of moderate to high-intensity muscle-strengthening exercise per week (5).
A recent systematic review of evidence on the effects of exercise on your gut microbiome was positive, with participants showing a consistent change in gut microbiome after eight weeks of exercise. This exercise was moderate-high and high-intensity exercise, that lasted for more than 30 minutes and occurred more than three times in a week (6).
However, for some, such as individuals currently experiencing Adrenal Fatigue, moderate to high-intensity exercise may increase stress on the body. Low-intensity exercises, such as yoga and tai chi, maybe more beneficial here, and both are great exercises for reducing stress.
Reduce Stress
Reducing stress has many beneficial effects on your body, such as improving the gut microbiome, and it may also help to break the link between psoriasis and stress. These practices may help to reduce stress:
- Deep breathing or breathing exercises
- Meditation
- Tai chi
- Yoga
- Massage
These practices may help to reduce stress as they can affect your nervous system.
There are two nervous system responses: a state of stress, known as the fight-or-flight response, and a state of calm, also known as the rest-and-digest response. These practices may help switch your body from a fight-or-flight response to a rest-and-digest response. This may help reduce the stress load on your body, thus breaking the link between psoriasis and stress.
Individuals may respond differently to these practices, however. Some may respond better to breathing exercises, whereas others may prefer yoga. With these practices, it’s important to try a variety and see how your body responds and how you feel afterward.
The Takeaway: Psoriasis and Stress
Psoriasis can be a serious condition that can impact your life in many ways. While it can be genetic, there is a relationship between psoriasis and stress. If you are experiencing psoriasis due to stress, focusing on enhancing gut health, reducing inflammation, and reducing stress can help break the link between psoriasis and stress. Practices that may help with these three focus points include:
- Identifying food sensitivities
- Reducing inflammatory foods
- Increasing consumption of probiotics and prebiotics
- Supplementation
- Exercise
- Breathing exercises
- Meditation
Some of these practices may also benefit more than one focus point, such as exercise, which not only enhances gut health but can also reduce feelings of stress.
If you are concerned that stress may be a cause of your psoriasis and would like more individualized advice, call us at +1 (714) 709-8000 for a consultation.
