We all know a solid skincare regime is great for your complexion, but could it also help relieve anxiety?
The possibility was recently floated on social networking website reddit.com, when a user posted a story about her experience of a terrifying flash flood.
Watching the water rise up to the front steps of her porch, she used an unusual technique to help keep calm – she pictured the steps of her skin-care routine. And it helped. A lot.
Here’s what the user wrote:
“It’s tactile, it’s regulated, and I just felt so much better afterwards,” she said.
“I’ve dealt with generalised anxiety for several years now and never had anyone recommend this kind of routine as a way to reduce stress, but it absolutely works.”
Amazingly, several others commented on the thread saying they, too, envisage the steps of their skin-care routines when they’re having a stressful day or experiencing anxiety. Who knows, maybe even Drew Barrymore was doing it…
But is this technique something that could be used more widely to combat stress? NYU Langone Medical Center Psychologist Jennifer Wolkin thinks so.
Speaking to allure.com, she said the ritual was “a way to create a sense of control. Those who do this are decreasing negative thoughts or reducing uncertainty to create an illusion of control.”
So, instead of thinking ‘I’m never going to meet the deadline’, you’re thinking ‘lather…cleanse…pat dry…moisturise…okay, I’ve got this’.
Personally, I’m a big advocate of deep breathing when anxiety hits, but I can imagine how this tactic might also help. Plus, different techniques work for different people – so if mulling over your skin-care is what works for you, then we say go for it!
Just be wary of taking it too far, as according to Jennifer, this could be a sign of something a bit more serious. “If you don’t know when to stop the ritual or at what point the ritual has fulfilled its purpose, that can become OCD, which is problematic,” she warned.
We’ll keep that in mind!
What stress-reducing technique(s) work best for you? Have you ever tried this one?
