Stress and Chapped Lips

Stress is something we all have to deal with at some point. This is just a fact of life, but if left unchecked, stress can have a seriously negative impact on more than one aspect of your life. Stress can cause weight gain, hair loss, heart and blood pressure issues, headaches, emotional distress, etc. So how does stress cause chapped lips?

Different people have different reactions to stress. These reactions can form into nervous habits, and often these repetitive habits can be harmful to us. One such habit would be to lick or bite at the lips when they become chapped. Another habit is to start playing with or chewing objects such as pens and paper clips in and around the mouth. This may bring temporary comfort, but it will worsen the condition of the lips substantially without ever allowing a chance for the lips to heal.

Sometimes when people are stressed out they turn to coffee, smoking, or drinking to help deal with the stress. All of these things will aid in dehydrating the body and will further dry out the lips, along with causing other more serious issues.

Also, stress diminishes vitamin B levels in our body. Vitamin B plays a crucial role in cell and skin repair, among other things. Without a good amount of vitamin B, it will be difficult to get rid of chapped lips and restore their health.

It's also worth noting that typically stress tends to breed more stress. This usually makes all those little annoyances in life into huge problems (for example, if you're stressed out about something at work or school, and you end up biting at your lips out of nervous habit to cope, you now have two things to be stressed about! Yikes!). It's important to step back and find a way to relax and deal with your stress in a healthy way. You'll find that even the worst of problems are more manageable this way (including chapped lips).

So how can you minimalize your stress? Sometimes it can be as easy as figuring out what your coping mechanisms are, and see if they are actually helping you deal with stress (dealing with stress in a healthy manner). If those coping mechanisms aren't helping (causing stress instead of helping you manage it), then you can reduce your stress levels simply by creating healthier habits - and eliminating the unhealthy ones. If you find that you often bite or chew at your lips, or tend to mess around with your lips whenever you are stressed, stop! Get rid of those unhealthy habits as soon as you can. You will be amazed at the difference!