Another View On Acne

tara

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2014
Messages
10,368
A few quotes from a newish article I just came across on Youtopia.
Acne in Recovery: I Know, Let’s Just Cut Out Food Groups!

The idea that recovery from severe undereating (esp. when it has gone far enough to result in amenorrhea) has some similarities with the premenarchal development, and that acne can happen in both these contexts of changing hormone levels, seems reasonable to me.

I don't share Olwyn's assessment of the benign nature estrogen supplementation. I think it's unlikely Peat would either. But what he would think about the rest of it, I don't know.

Gwyneth Olwyn said:
Acne is just one of several symptoms that show up for many during the recovery process. And of course, the unsurprising solution often suggested by both medical and alternative healthcare providers will be to remove food groups (most commonly sugar and/or milk products).

Gwyneth Olwyn said:
It is common for patients undergoing recovery from restrictive eating disorders to have a period of severe acne and it coincides with something akin to going through puberty yet again as the body re-establishes its natural sex hormone balance.

Gwyneth Olwyn said:
Let’s just take a moment to consider the complexity of the appearance of acne: sexual hormonal development and maturation, circulating levels of stress hormones, as well as possible genetic, inflammatory and pathogenic inputs all appear to need to be present for acne to show up. And yet we figure that cutting out sugar or milk will be just the ticket to fix it all—it’s a wonderful example of “when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”.

Gwyneth Olwyn said:
Beyond that, don’t underestimate how relevant psychoeducational treatment can be (seeing a therapist). I am not saying that the acne outbreak is treatable in this way; I am however saying that relaxation techniques and learning to handle the distress of approaching and eating the food with guidance from an appropriately trained therapist will lower stress hormone levels over time and we know that these hormones are one contributory facet of the onset of acne for most. 16 Some decent studies suggest that various forms of yoga breathing have a direct impact on lowering cortisol, DHEA and adrenocorticotropic (ATCH) levels. 17, 18, 19 There are also smatterings of clinical data on the use of both biofeedback and hypnosis for improving the severity of acne as well.

Gwyneth Olwyn said:
As with all other distressing symptoms in recovery, time is the most powerful mediator in resolving the symptom completely for almost everyone. No one wants to hear that, but it’s true.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom