SKIN AND STRESS

The concept of stress was developed based on data from experimental pa thology and psychology studies. Selye defined stress and described the physiologic changes induced by stress, under the designation ''genera l adaptation syndrome''. The interactive aspect of stress has since th en been emphasized. Stress results from a unique interaction between a thinking individual and a physical or social environment. The presenc e in humans of a mental apparatus capable of thinking, reminiscing, an d fantasizing accounts for the specific features of stress as a clinic al condition. It follows that psychosomatic dermatology cannot be sati sfied with defining and documenting stress, with establishing a link b etween stress and a disorder of the skin (an organ that plays a unique role in communication), and with evaluating the biological mechanism underlying the skin lesions. Another essential goal is to understand w hy an individual patient, with his or her unique history, develops a s kin disorder as a manifestation of an inhability to cope with adversit y. Two psychologic factors should be taken into account in dermatology , namely stress and the personality of the person subjected to the str ess. What makes a life event stressful is often the personnality of th e subject experiencing the event.